Carnivorous Plants of the British Isles

Did you know that at least 13 carnivorous plant species, and 3 natural hybrids, are native to the British Isles. Yes 13! One less species than it used to be following the apparent extinction of Pinguicula alpina from 1919 (Druce, G. C. 1932), which used to grow in Scotland. And here they are:

Temperate Perennial Drosera

D. anglica - Great or English Sundew
D. intermedia - Oblong-leaved Sundew
D. rotundifolia - Round-leaved Sundew

D. intermedia

D. anglica

D. rotundifolia

Natural Hybrids Dosera

D x obovata (D. anglica x D. rotundifolia)
D x beleziana (D. intermedia x D. rotundifolia)

Temperate Perennial Pinguicula

P. vulgaris - Common Butterwort
P. lusitanica - Pale Butterwort
P. grandiflora - Great, or Large-flowerted Butterwort
P. alpina - Alpine Butterwort

P. lusitanica

P. vulgaris

P. grandiflora

Natural Hybrids Pinguicula

P. x scullyi (P. vulgaris x P. grandiflora)

Temperate Aquatic Perennial Utricularia

U. minor - Lesser Bladderwort
U. australis - Wavy Bladderwort
U. vulgaris - Greater Bladderwort
U. intermedia - Intermediate or Flat-leaf Bladderwort
U. ochroleuca - Pale or Yellowish-white Bladderwort
U. stygia - Nordic, or Artic Bladderwort
U. bremii - Bladderwort

U. vulgaris

There are also a few P. grandiflora forms described in Ireland, with white, pale-lilac or purplish-pink flowers.

What is perhaps the most surprising is the number of aquatic Utricularia. Aquatic Utricularia are thread-like and rootless plants that grow as a long network of thin stolons (specialised horizontal shoots or stems) blessed with fine branching photosynthetic leaves. Small bladder-like traps, which give rise to the plant's common name form on both the stolons and leaves in varying abundance. By-and-large the British Utricularia inhabit quiet, open, shallow nutrient-deficient pools, ponds and ditches.