FlyTrapCare Forums

I am new to utricularia and my U.longifolia has this thing?.. I have no idea.. It's on the end of one leaf. There aren't any others.

It looks like a new growth point.

Good growing,
Mike

Hmmmn.its on the tip of the leaf. The rest of the plant has single leaves coming from the soil. Is it one of those false vivapary things on a utricularia? That was my first thought but didn't know for sure. You think I could start a new plant?

It sure looks like the underground growing stolons I've seen on Utrics. Let it grow, when it's long enough, cover it with some Sphagnum and see if new leaves start to appear. If so, cut it off, you have a new plant to trade.

Good growing,
Mike

I had a damaged flower stalk on my U. calycifida do that. Instant plant division!

If it is supposed to be underground it will be the first time that I might get to see the bladders close up?

It's just a plantlet that formed from the leaf tip, kinda like what P. primuliflora does. You can take it off and plant it, or leave it to grow larger. This happens more often when you're keeping it wet or have high humidity. On that note you don't need to wait for these plantlets to form to reproduce U. longifolia - you lop off pretty much any part of the plant - leaves, stolons, whatever - and it will usually develop into a new division.

Lots of sect. Foliosa utrics (U. praelonga, U. amethystina, U. calycifida, etc. in addition to this species) make these aerial plantlets since most of them can be reproduced from leaf cuttings. Even some from outside that section will do it.

If you want to see the stolons and traps I'd recommend you use the late Geoff Wong's Genlisea setup - plant a division in a shallow strawberry-basket sort of tray with the bottom of the basket in contact with or slightly submerged in a clear container of water. The stolons will grow into the container.

That sounds like a fun experiment..