Species

Utricularia delicatula

Etymology

Utricularia: a small bladder
delicatula: somewhat delicate

Common Name(s)

bladderwort

Current Conservation Status

2012 - At Risk - Relict

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - At Risk - Relict
2004 - Gradual Decline

Qualifiers

2009 - DP, RR, Sp

Authority

Utricularia delicatula Cheeseman

Family

Lentibulariaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

UTRDEL

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Distribution

Northern half of North Island (very rare); Chatham Island

Habitat

Coastal to lowland restiad-dominated bogs, in open ground, epsecially bare, freshly exposed peat, but also found threaded through liverworts and Sphagnum moss. On Chatham Island, it has been found growing on peaty soil on the margins of streams and in similar peaty turf with Oreomyrrhis on rock platforms exposed to salt spray and on occasion wave wash.

Features

Tiny leaves (4–6 mm long); flowers are helmet-like, usually 2–3 together, pale lilac to pale lavender, on erect slender stalks 2–3 cm tall; capsules dry, ovoid and filled with tiny seeds. Flowers occur from November to February and the globular fruit are persistent from autumn into winter.

Similar Taxa

In New Zealand this species has no obvious close relatives. The rather small somewhat delicate, inflated pale white to lavender flowers (sometimes with a rather faint yellow eye) are especially distinctive. The typically linear leaves are very small, narrow and usually bright green, the traps are also very small (0.6 x 0.4 mm) and can be very hard to detect in the field. Outside New Zealand it has been confused with Australian U. lateriflora.

Flowering

November - February

Flower Colours

Violet / Purple,White

Fruiting

Autumn - Winter

Propagation Technique

Difficult and should not be removed from the wild.

Threats

Habitat destruction: bog drainage; intensive farming; invasion by or regeneration of dense taller vegetation.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

This page last updated on 12 May 2017