The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 12

Utricularia section Foliosa
Species Range Habit1
U. amethystina USA, Latin America T
U. calycifida2 South America T
U. hintonii2 Mexico T?
U. hispida2 Latin America T
U. huntii2 Brazil T
U. longifolia2 Brazil T
U. panamensis2 Panama T
U. petersoniae2 Mexico T/L
U. praelonga2 South America T
U. regia2 Mexico T
U. schultesii2 Colombia, Venezuela T
U. tricolor South America T
U. tridentata South America T
1T=terrestrial; L=lithophyte.
2Formerly in section Psyllosperma.

Q: About Utricularia subgenus Utricularia section Foliosa

A: The current interpretation of this section consists of species that Taylor had relegated to two separate sections. However, research in 2006 indicated that the two sections were not monophyletic; in other words they should be reshuffled and in this case combining them made the most sense. This section is generally delineated by a number of minor characters. From a nontechnical perspective, most of these plants have relatively large leaves.

Utricularia amethystina
This pretty little purple flowered species once occurred in two counties in peninsular Florida (Lee, Collier counties). Unfortunately it has not been seen in Florida for many years, and I suspect it has been wiped out in the USA. While it still can be found in Latin America, it is noteworthy as the first species to be wiped out within USA borders.

Utricularia calycifida
I have a particular fondness for this species, as it is one of the few species that can have particularly beautiful leaves (with purple venation). I have put a great deal of effort into hybridizing clones, and over the years I named several cultivars. These are plants with names derived from horror stories by dear old H.P. Lovecraft. The cultivars are U. 'Asenath Waite', U. 'Cthulhu', U. 'Lavinia Whateley', U. 'Mrs. Marsh', and U. 'Yog-Sothoth'. Probably the finest from this group is U. 'Asenath Waite'.

Utricularia longifolia
Quite probably one of the most commonly grown species, this plant can have the longest leaves (although not largest in surface area) in the genus. When it flowers, stand back and be ready to be astounded. A few odd clones occur in cultivation, namely a short-leaved plant, a white flowered form, and a plant referred to as Utricularia longifolia var. forgetiana. I have grown this, and have not seen any significant differences between it and the many other clones in cultivation, except that its flowers were a bit smaller than those on the other plants. Not a trait I consider very worthwhile!

Utricularia praelonga
This plant confounded me when I first grew it, because although it produced little obovate leaves, my pot of it was infested with a kind of grass that made long, erect leaves. I kept pulling these out until the day I realized that these were leaves of the same species! Yes, it makes two kinds of leaves! It is really hard to convince this plant to flower.

Utricularia regia
Similar to U. hintonii and U. petersoniae, but with the upper corolla lip divided into two linear-spatulate lobes, each of which is divided again, for four lobes total.

Utricularia tricolor
This species has nice little fan-shaped or kidney-shaped leaves. I have never had success convincing it to flower. Oh, it is easy enough to obtain inflorescences. But they always abort. Very annoying.

Utricularia tridentata
Another pretty, and easily grown species that has light colored flowers that add a bit of pleasure to a terrarium. Like the others in this group of species, this is invasive in carnivorous plant terraria or greenhouses, so be careful about where you put it.

Page citations: Müller et al. 2006; Rice, B.A. 2006a; Taylor, P. 1989; Zamudio & Olvera 2009; personal observations.

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Revised: 2018
©Barry Rice, 2018