Plants

Lesser Bladderwort

Lesser Bladderwort (Utricularia minor)

Lesser Bladderwort is a water dwelling plant, which tolerates the nutrient poor conditions in the bog pools of fens, blanket and raised bog. It is free floating with hair-like leaves some or all of which produce tiny, 2mm long, bladders with a pale yellow flower in summer. The bladders are an adaptation to life in nutrient poor conditions as they are used to capture small animals. Each bladder has one or more bristles which act as a trigger which causes it to open, creating a vacuum. This sucks in a little water, along with the oblivious prey. Lesser Bladderwort occurs at many peatland sites most of Northern Ireland.

Click here to view a distribution map of the Lesser Bladderwort in Northern Ireland.