The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 12

Utricularia section Stylotheca
Species Range Habit1
U. guyanensis Central and South America T
1T=terrestrial.

Q: About Utricularia subgenus Utricularia section Stylotheca

A: A strange section, built around a single species with a flower that is so bizarre it screams for separation from the rest of the species in the genus. That said, the rest of the plant is conventional and does not merit special recognition at the subgeneric level.

Utricularia guyanensis
At first glance, you might not think this yellow-flowered species is particularly peculiar, at least until you pulled the lower corolla lip down and looked inside. The anthers are unlike those of any other species in the genus, and even family! (OK, maybe you could argue that the beserkly strange U. choristotheca has somewhat similar anthers, but not really...) Unlike the short, curving filaments produced by other Utricularia, the filaments of this species are long, bent, and dip down into the spur before rising back out. The style is similarly bent. Clearly there is some kind of peculiar pollination biology going on.

Page citations: Rice, B.A. 2006a; Taylor, P. 1989; personal observations.

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Revised: 2018
©Barry Rice, 2018