Here is the document rather than the file above:
Information on Bladderworts, Genus Utricularia from The Savage Garden by Peter D’Amato, owner of California Carnivores.
www.californiacarnivores.com/index.asp Chapter 10, The Bladderworts.
“In the most general of descriptions, utrics form creeping or floating stems that are usually thin and hairlike. They are completely rootless. Most of the plant is under ground or in water. The majority of the species produce leaflike appendages, called photosynthetic solons that protrude along the soil surface. These may be a fraction of an inch long or much larger (up to several inches), the latter resembling true leaves. Aquatic varieties often have thin, branching leaves not much different than their stems. The entire plant may be only a few inches across, while some aquatic varieties may grow several yards long. When flowers appear, they grow up from the stems, protruding above the soil or water surface.”
“Francis Lloyd, in his 1942 Carnivorous Plants, realized that over a dozen separate things occurred when a bladder caught prey-and most of them much faster than the blink of an eye.”
“The bladders are usually kidney-, pear-, or tubular-shaped. They are attached to the plant by a small stalk. The traps are hollow and transparent, their walls only two cells thick. At the end of the trap is a small door, which can only open inwardly. When closed, an oozy mucilage around the door keeps it watertight. When set, the bladder’s walls are concave; a strong vacuum exists within it.”
“Outside the bladder’s door are several long, filament-like hairs that usually form a funnel to guide prey toward the door. Glands exist around the closed entranceway, which may secrete a lure. Typical prey are microscopic organisms such as paramecium and Cyclops, and larger prey such as rotifers, water fleas, worms, and mosquito larva. The biggest prey include newly hatched fish fry and tadpolettes.”
“Minute trigger hairs sit at the trap door’s entrance. A mere touch of one of these hairs and-whoosh! The door swings open and the prey and any surrounding water are sucked inside due to the trap’s vacuum. The door slams shut. The prey is suddenly trapped inside its transparent, vegetable prison.”
“Water is pumped out of the trap through the door within minutes. Again, the mucilage seal makes the bladder a watertight vacuum. As soon as twenty minutes later the trap is reset and ready for its next meal. One bladder can catch over a dozen prey.”
“Inside the bladder, glands secrete digestive juices that cover the prey. Within hours, the victim dissolves. Other glands absorb the nutrient soup.”
“Larger creatures caught by the traps suffer a particularly gruesome death. Tadpoles and mosquito larvae are often caught by their tails. They struggle helplessly to free themselves as they are slowly digested alive. As the trap resets itself, the prey’s agonized thrashing will set off the trap again…and again…and again, until only their heads protrude from the trap, too large to be sucked in through the door.”
“TERRESTRIAL BLADDERWORTS:
These species are simple to grow and when in flower include some of the finest. They are native to all the world’s climate zones, and some are pan climatic. Typically they grow in permanently wet, peaty sands that are sometimes flooded with shallow water, and they are frequently companions to other carnivorous plants. The small bladders feed on various swimming and crawling creatures that inhabit their waterlogged soils, such as fungus gnat larvae and tiny worms. Usually they produce carpets of short photosynthetic stolons along the soil surface, something like blades of grass pressed flat to the ground. Their flowers may be minute to substantial, held close to the soil or on stems several inches tall.”
“Utricularia graminifolia: This Asian species grows from Japan to India. It flowers prolifically in late summer and autumn. The blooms are held a few inches above the ground, with an attractively colored puffed lower lobe of pale pinkish blue.”
“AQUATIC BLADDERWORTS:
“Free-floating, aquatic bladderworts are better known to the general public (through television nature programs) because these are the easiest of the bladderwort species to film. They are not necessarily the easiest to grow, primarily because popular varieties can reach enormous size and require wading-pool sized containers. Another hassle in cultivation is algae growth, which can inhibit utrics, and thus far there are no known treatments that kill algae without harming the bladderwort. Daphnia help control algae while providing the plants with food. So do tadpoles-but they will eat utrics when they run out of algae.”
“Most aquatic utrics in cultivation are temperate species, and most form hairy dormant buds called turions during cold temperatures. They usually grow in quiet, shallow ponds of acidic water. Some of the plants flower en masse when water tables drop; a few form dormant buds at times of drought. The foliage of the plants often alternates along the floating stems, producing whorls of threadlike leaves and other branches that produce the bladders. The often pretty flowers grow on stems sent above the water surface.”
“Utricularia gibba:
If you wish to grow only one aquatic, it should be this species. It is by far the simplest to grow, surviving years in a container as small as a cup or bowl or even as an amphibious species in waterlogged peat. It also does well in the home or classroom on sunny windowsills or under grow-lights. It even grows in the water trays of potted plants. The species grows in much of the world, in both temperate and tropical climates, usually in shallow water. It never goes dormant, and plants frozen solid return to growth when temperatures increase. The plants are small and fibrous, with half-inch bright yellow flowers with a skirt and a puffed palate delicately penciled in red veins. The upper lobe forms an overhanging bonnet, and the spur looks like a curved tail.”
Cultivation:
“Soil recipes: All peat must be Sphagnum Peat, specifically avoid sedge peat or Michigan peat which is entirely different and unsuitable. Aquatic varieties: One cup of peat well-mixed into each gallon of water. Terrestrial: Use a mix of one part peat to one part sand.”
“Containers: Terrestrial: either drained or undrained work well. If you wish to view the bladders on terrestrials, grow them in glass containers with removable black plastic sheeting or construction paper wrapped along the outside of the glass below the soil level. The traps will be visible when the dark covering is removed. Small aquatics succeed in containers that hold roughly one gallon of water.”
“Watering: Use the tray system for terrestrials. (Set pot in a shallow tray with standing rain water or distilled water if you don’t have soft water in the tap.) Many appreciate periodic flooding and will do best in undrained bowls so the water level can rise and fall beyond the soil level. Aquatic species may need their peaty water changed if algae becomes severe. Gently rinse off the plants before introducing them to fresh water.”
“Light: Sunny to partly sunny conditions for most species. Sun induces flowering.”
“Feeding: Aquatics can have daphnia and other microscopic life introduced to their water containers. Local, natural ponds are a good source of these. The other varieties will feed on fungus gnat larvae and microscopic life that often grow on their own. If you flood your terrestrials, introduce daphnia.”
“Fertilizers: Utrics appreciate light fertilizer about once monthly during their growing season. Acid, orchid, or epiphytic fertilizers at one-quarter strength can be misted onto the foliage. Aquatics can have the water sprinkled similarly.”
End of quote.
The picture below is U. gibba. Jerry Smith took the photo in the summer of 2006. The scale divisions on the photo are 0.01" apart.
Some other Carnivorous Plant suppliers and links:
cobraplant.com/index.php Can subscribe to an email newsletter on CP and get in on monthly raffle for free plants. I have purchased from them and expect first delivery 3/28/08.
www.omnisterra.com/bot/cp_home.cgiwaynesword.palomar.edu/carnivor.htmwww.carnivorousplantnursery.com/www.blackjungle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BJTS&Category_Code=CPhome.paonline.com/mrmiller/www.flytraps.com/Scripts/default.aspwww.rdrop.com/users/mvz/plants.htm#bybliswww.pitcherplant.com/sarracen.htmlwww.sarracenia.com/galleria/floor2.html