Utricularia macrorhiza

Common bladderwort

Family: Lentibulariaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Common bladderwort is a native perennial found in northwestern California, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, San Francisco Bay Area, San Bernardy Mountains, Great Basin, and western Mojave Desert in quiet, shallow or deep, rarely flowing, acidic waters at elevations below 2,700 meters. Flowering from June to September, this aquatic plant produces yellow flowers with a distinctive lower lip larger than the upper lip, blooming on stout peduncles one to four decimeters long. Growing as a floating aquatic with a well-defined central stolon, it develops intricate leaves divided into 30 to 150 thread-like segments with delicate ultimate segments. Its complex leaves are one to two-parted at the base, each part unequally pinnately dissected, with bladders near the base larger than those near the tip. Winter buds one to two centimeters long with bristly texture help the plant survive seasonal changes in its aquatic habitat.

Habitat: Quiet, shallow or deep, rarely flowing, acidic waters

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: < 2700 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SN, SnFrB, SnBr, GB, w DMoj

California counties: Modoc, Lake, Placer, Nevada, Siskiyou, Tulare, Fresno, San Joaquin, Alpine, Lassen, San Bernardino, Mono, Del Norte, Plumas, Tuolumne, Merced, El Dorado, Inyo, San Mateo, Madera, Humboldt, Marin, Mendocino, Tehama, Mariposa, Sierra, Butte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.