Utricularia bisquamata belonging to a charming family

Utricularia bisquamata, the Cape bladderwort, is a delicate annual that grows to 12 cm in height and eats insects. The leaves of some species of this genus develop into bladder-like traps for that purpose, the plant being carnivorous. It also catches small worms, including nematodes.

U. bisquamata bears small, narrow, strap-shaped leaves. There are more than 200 species in the genus worldwide, mostly found in tropical and subtropical conditions. Utricularia plants are annual or perennial herbs.

Some species are aquatic and may be seen growing in ponds like water lilies. There are some yellow-flowering exotic utricularias in South Africa that live in water, having arrived here in the past by colonial means that are these days frowned upon.

One of the flowers in picture allows a tiny peep at the spur of the flower positioned below the lower corolla lip (Manning, 2007; iSpot).