Utricularia minor (Lesser Bladderwort) - photos and description
General: Aquatic, carnivorous plant using tiny bladders (1 mm and less in diameter) to trap and ingest small aquatic insects. Bladders on their own stems, the flower stems having no leaves (similar to Utricularia intermedia).
Flowers: Inflorescence is a short raceme, we observed up to 4 flowers per stem. The flowers are yellow, measured at 6 mm long and 2 mm wide. Flowering time is end of June through July.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, numerous on submerged stems, are tiny, thread-like.
Height: We measured stems rising to 6.5 cm above the water.
Habitat: Fens and bogs.
Abundance: Rare, ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken July 4th, in a marshy area of a fen, boreal forest, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, 300 km northeast of our home in Regina, SK.