The Carnivorous Plant FAQ Field Trip Report -

By the Mountains of Madness

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Bladders:
I haven't said anything about how you can distinguish U. ochroleuca from U. intermedia, have I? This is a tricky realm. The best way is to use a microscope and look at the quadrifid glands inside those bladders. Look to a source like Taylor's monograph on Utricularia for more information on this. Also, there are differences in the number of leaf setulae on the terminal leaf segments (U. ochroleuca has far fewer). There are also some technical details about the leaflet tips, and the attachment points of the setulae to the leaf margin. Subtle stuff, and unless I get really bored and add this information to the FAQ, you'll have to get a copy of Taylor's monograph for more information.

Oddly, the quadrifid glands in the bladders of the Californian U. intermedia are rather unstable in their orientations. I'm still studying this.

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Revised: October 2007
©Barry Rice, 2005