Blink and you’ll miss this aquatic carnivorous cutie’s strike.
In just a few milliseconds, it sucks in its prey at up to 4 meters per second,
trapping its victim in its watery grave to be digested for its precious nutrients. These unique
and complex suction traps make it the fastest known plant in the world. This is the bladderwort.
Hi I’m Tasha the Amazon and you’re watching Floralogic. Today we’re talking about Utricularia,
which comes from the Latin for “small bag”. We also know them as bladderworts,
which, after squirting cucumber, is runner up for “euphemism of the year”.
This genus of over 200 species of carnivorous plants is found in freshwater lakes, marshes,
streams and waterlogged soil on every continent but Antarctica.
Given their adaptability to whatever their environment throws at them,
you’re likely to encounter them almost anywhere you can find shallow water
or boggy conditions. Don’t forget to pack your waders!
Bladderworts are divided into two categories: terrestrial,
living in wet, waterlogged or temporarily flooded areas and aquatic, either suspended
and free-floating on the surface or affixed with a few shoots nestled in the substrate.
The main above-board attraction of these rootless plants
are their colourful snapdragon-like flowers. Such a wide range of species also means that
bladderwort blooms come in a rainbow of colours from red to yellow to purple, pink and white.
We’ve mentioned before that the Big D, Charles Darwin, was a huge carnivorous
plant- head. And in his 1888 book, Insectivorous Plants, he said “The bladders offer the chief
point of interest.” And indeed they do! The “bladder” in bladderwort comes from the
tiny sacs under the surface that the plant uses to suck in its prey at turbo speeds. Its victims
include zooplankton, water fleas, aquatic worms, amoebas, and mosquito larvae, to name a few!
Fighting mosquitoes at the source. That’s my kind of carnivorous plant!
The expression “hair trigger” is an apt description of the mechanism behind the
bladderwort’s impressive ability to capture its prey. Tiny hairs on each bladder trigger it to
spring open so quickly that a vacuum-like force sucks in whatever sets off the trap. The door then
slams shut, sealing the delicious snack inside. While the traps of the bladderwort are the
smallest of all carnivorous species, ranging in size from 1 to 6mm, they
win the prize for most sophisticated. Sorry, Venus flytraps, better luck next millenia!
To suck in its prey at such superspeeds, each hermetically sealed bladder has
negative pressure compared to the water around it. When the trap is triggered,
water shoots inside, taking its victims with it.
The bladder is lined with two types of glands, one which secretes digestive
enzymes to soupify their prey and absorb its nutrients, and one that’s responsible for
pumping out water. But glands aren’t the only thing you’ll find inside a bladderworts sac!
Within each tiny sac live commensal microorganisms -- bacteria, microfungi,
algae and more. In this relationship, the microorganisms get easy access to food
in exchange for helping the bladderwort break down its prey. But, It’s still not always
clear to researchers which microorganisms are commensal and which are actually prey themselves.
The ones that can’t survive the low oxygen environment of the sealed bladder trap
likely also become the appetizer for the bladderwort’s next meal.
There’s still much that scientists don’t understand about exactly how utricularia’s
complex bladders break down and absorb nutrients and the detailed role commensal microorganisms
play in their digestion. Maybe some of you aspiring
botanists out there will one day crack the code of utricularia’s mysterious bladders!
Owning your very own terrestrial bladderwort requires some special care and attention.
In addition to a few hours of light a day, these water-loving carnivores
need continuously moist soil. Which is a bit of a “duh-doi” after
all of this aquatic talk. Master their care and you
too can experience the wonder and complexity of this highly advanced carnivorous plant at home!
So what should we talk about next? Please let me know in the comments and don’t forget
to subscribe for new episodes every week. Thanks for watching. See ya!