Butterworts   GENUS Pinguicula
 

Pinguicula ionantha

This species prefers very wet habitats (as P. planifolia does). After a heavy rain, the plants are often found in shallow water along the ditches and bogs. The rosette measures 9-15 cm across in nature. A light green leaf has somewhat rolled up edges. The plants are known only from a small area in the central Florida panhandle. The The species is federally endangered due to its limited distribution and habitat destruction.

In the native southeastern U.S. the plants bloom in early spring, from mid-February to March. It takes a bright sunshine for a flower to fully open. Each plant produces several scapes from the rosette center ranging 10-20 cm tall. supporting a single flower.

Five-lobed corolla has a shallow but clear incision on each lobe. White corolla contrasts with a bright yellow palate strongly exserted from the plane of lobe surface. The slightly purplish corolla tube terminates in a short spur of yellow coloration.

When the trigger hairs on the inner surface of the trap lobes are stimulated, the clam-shell-shaped trap closes suddenly --- often in less than a half second --- fast enough to capture such agile insects as a fly quite comfortably. Intermeshing marginal spines effectively prevent the prey's escape. After the initial rapid closure, the insect's struggle inside the trap further stimulates the trigger hairs, causing the trap lobes to close even more tightly.  In a day or so, the trap is seen tightly sealed around the free margins of the lobes, with the marginal spines pointing outwardly. The digestive fluids start to ooze into the now sealed trap cavity. As the digestive process progresses, the products of digestion are swiftly absorbed through the leaf and are carried away to the other parts of the plant.

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