Utricularia minor L.
lesser bladderwort
Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jamie Fenneman     (Photo ID #10743)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Utricularia minor
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial aquatic herb without roots; stems very slender, floating, submerged or creeping along the bottom, leafy, up to 75 cm long.
Leaves:
Alternate, numerous, 0.3-1 cm long, divided into 3 parts at the base and then again 1-3 times into 5 flattened, ultimate segments, narrowed towards the tips, margins glabrous; bladders few, borne on the leaves and 1-2 mm wide; winter buds 2-9 mm long, glabrous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of 3-9 flowers in lax racemes at the end of stalks 4-15 cm long; corollas pale yellow, the tubes short, lower lips narrow, 4-8 mm long, spurs sac-like, poorly developed as a hump below the lower lip; bracts ear-like at the bases.
Fruits:
Capsules, stalks recurved; seeds not winged.
Notes:
The illustration U. minor in Hitchcock et al. (1959) is actually of U. ochroleuca (Ceska and Bell 1973). See the latter paper for flower and leaf illustrations of our Utricularia species.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Utricularia minor

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
794 20 1225
Slope Gradient (%)
0 0 7

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

202 40 250
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
7 7 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
39
Modal BEC Zone Class
IDF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BWBS(5), CDF(3), CWH(8), ICH(2), IDF(8), MS(2), SBPS(5), SBS(5)

Habitat and Range

Oligotrophic and dystrophic (low nutrient) lakes and peatbog pools in the lowland and montane zones; common on Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands, less frequent inland; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to PA, NJ, ND, CO and CA; Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia