# humped bladderwort

*Utricularia gibba*

Its underwater bladder traps operate via negative pressure, snapping shut and vacuuming in prey in less than a millisecond.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Lentibulariaceae › Utricularia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** wetland
- **Habitat:** Shallow, quiet, nutrient-poor waters of ponds, lakes, marshes, and ditches.
- **Diet:** Carnivorous (microscopic aquatic organisms like daphnia, protozoans, and rotifers).
- **Range:** North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia
- **Size:** Floating mats with stems up to 20 cm; traps are 1 to 2 mm.
- **Lifespan:** Perennial (indefinite via clonal growth)
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Wetland destruction, water pollution, herbicide runoff, and invasive aquatic species.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This tiny carnivorous plant poses no threat to humans. Observe its delicate yellow flowers from the safety of the shoreline to avoid disrupting fragile wetland habitats.

## About

Utricularia gibba , commonly known as the humped or floating bladderwort , is a small, mat-forming species of carnivorous aquatic bladderwort. It is found on all continents except Antarctica.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/d98032ca-30ee-49b4-9ef6-309bdb2cbf18
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/79464
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utricularia gibba
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/318967745/medium.jpeg (Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.