Bladderworts   GENUS Utricularia

Utricularia geminiscapa

Utricularia geminiscapa is endemic in the United States and Canada. This aquatic bladderwort grows in shallow water of lakes and ponds. In the U.S. the distribution is recorded in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina (Taylor 1989). In spite of its apparent wide distribution, the plants are somewhat elusive and are not often spotted. The vegetative parts are similar to more common U. macrorhiza, U. gibba and U. minor and the identification may not be easy if the plants are out of flower. Like U. minor and U. intermedia, but slightly less clearly so, the stolon tends to produce two types of stolon segments (somewhat dimorphic, according to Taylor 1989), the one mostly comprising filiform branching leaves without traps and the other bearing many traps .  

This species produces a bright yellow inflorescence. The lower lip of the corolla is 3-lobed, as seen in the pictures below. 

Many species produce a reduced-size flower that self-pollinates without opening. This closed flower (termed cleistogamous) often coexists with a typical open flower (termed chasmogamous).  In U. geminiscapa, a short-stemmed cleistogamous flower is produced under water along with a clasmogamous flower that protrudes above the water surface.

Traps tend to be borne on a stolon segment with few leaves. The other stolon segments may bear filiform leaves but with few to no traps.

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