The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 12

Utricularia section Avesicarioides
Species Range Habit1
U. rigida w tropical Africa R
U. tetraloba Guinea, Sierra Leone R
1R=rheophyte.

Q: About Utricularia subgenus Bivalvaria section Avesicarioides

A: This little Utricularia section has only two species known from Africa. They are rheophytes, meaning they grow on rock faces under a film of moving water. They stay affixed in these situations by means of their densely clawlike rhizoids which grip the rock. The rhizoids of most other Utricularia are little useless growths, so it is interesting seeing them having functions here. The flowers of these species are mostly white, with minor features such as yellow throat patches and some brown veining.

As far as I know, neither species has ever been in cultivation, and I bet cultivation will be dang hard.

Utricularia rigida
Distinguished from Utricularia tetraloba by its two-lobed (instead of four-lobed) lower corolla lip. The plant is quite interesting in structure--long, pinnately divided leaves branch from the mass of rock-affixing rhizoids, and presumably wave about in the flowing water.

Utricularia tetraloba
This is the smaller of the two species in the section. Its leaves are more delicate--they are reduced to a single axis from which emerge rarely-divided, filamentous leaf segments.

Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; Taylor, P. 1989; personal observations.

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Revised: 2018
©Barry Rice, 2018