| Utricularia section Phyllaria | ||
|---|---|---|
| Species | Range | Habit1 |
| U. brachiata | Asia | L |
| U. christopheri | Nepal | L |
| U. corynephora | Myanmar, Thailand | L |
| U. forrestii | China, Myanmar | L |
| U. furcellata | India, Nepal | L/T |
| U. garrettii | Thailand | L |
| U. inthanonensis | Thailand | L/T |
| U. kumaonensis | Asia | L/T |
| U. moniliformis | Sri Lanka | L |
| U. multicaulis | Asia | L/T |
| U. phusoidaoensis | Thailand | L/T |
| U. pulchra | New Guinea | L/T |
| U. salwinensis | China | L/T |
| U. spinomarginata | Thailand | L/T |
| U. steenisii | Sumatra | L/T |
| U. striatula | Africa, Asia | L/E |
| 1L=lithophte; T=terrestrial; E=epiphyte. | ||
Q: About Utricularia subgenus Bivalvaria section Phyllaria
A: My, my, what a fairly large section, and I have never set eyes upon any of them even in
cultivation! These plants are lithophytes, in general a group of plants very poorly represented in cultivation.
One of the most interesting features that characterize this section is the starfish-like appendage at the trap
entrance with a set of distinctive gland-arms. The seeds also usually have very strange outgrowths on their surfaces---not just
little bumps, they often look like long antennae, spikes, or feelers. Very odd.
This group of species includes some real oddities, including a number which produce tubers (people who think that only species in
section Orchidioides produce tubers should pay better attention!). There are different tuber
morphologies I highlight below, to illustrate the diversity in this section.
Utricularia brachiata
As a first example of tuber form, this plant has a small rosette of leaves,
and underneath each rosette is a single tuber only a few mm long. The leaves, bladderous stolons,
and inflorescence apparently emerge directly from the little tuber.
Utricularia christopheri
As a second example of tuber form, this plant's tuber is connected by a
short vertical stalk to a nexus point from which emerge all the leaves, inflorescence, and most (or all) of the
bladderous stolons.
Utricularia kumaonensis
As a third example of tuber form, this plant's tuber is absent!
(Or at least has not yet been observed.)
Utricularia moniliformis
As a fourth example of tuber form, this plant has multiple tubers that
are strung together like a string of sausages.
Utricularia striatula
This species, which apparently lacks tubers, grows on wet rocks and moist
tree trunks---hence the epiphytic classification in my table.
Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; Suksathan, P., and Parnell, J.A.N. 2010;
Taylor, P. 1989; personal observations.
