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NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Pinguicula caerulea

Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort

Scientific Name:

Pinguicula caerulea

Genus:

Pinguicula

Species Epithet:

caerulea

Common Name:

Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort

Plant Type

Herb/Wildflower

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Lentibulariaceae (Bladderwort Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

0-1 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

Pink, Blue, Purple

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Moist, Wet

Bloom Time:

April, May

Growing Area:

Sandhills, Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

“Pine savannas and wet pine flatwoods, mostly in the outer Coastal Plain, rarely extending inland to seepages and sandhill-pocosin ecotones in the fall-line Sandhills of NC and SC.” (Weakley 2015). Uncommon in NC Coastal Plain.

Leaf Arrangement:

Basal

Leaf Retention:

Deciduous

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Has some wildlife value

Landscape Value:

Not Recommended for home landscapes

State Rank:

S3: Vulnerable (*Key)

Global Rank:

G4 - Apparently Secure (*Key)

State Status:

W6: Watch List: Regionally Rare (*Key)

Notes:

"...Leaves are covered in tiny hairs. The hairs on the leaf surface secrete a sticky mucilage in which insects become trapped. (Insects often mistake the mucilage for drops of water.) The leaf margins curl over the trapped insect. Enzymes are then secreted to help the plant digest its prey." Florida Wildflowers https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-pinguicula-caerulea/

Bloom

image

David McAdoo

Blossom and plant, notice basal leaves that curl around insects

Down East Carteret County Roadside

The Scientific Name is Pinguicula caerulea. You will likely hear them called Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort. This picture shows the Blossom and plant, notice basal leaves that curl around insects of Pinguicula caerulea

Lynda Clay

Green Swamp (Brunswick and Columbus Counties, NC)

The Scientific Name is Pinguicula caerulea. You will likely hear them called Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort. This picture shows the  of Pinguicula caerulea

Robert Bachand

Flower has 5 deeply cleft petals.

Green Swamp (Brunswick and Columbus Counties, NC)

The Scientific Name is Pinguicula caerulea. You will likely hear them called Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort. This picture shows the Flower has 5 deeply cleft petals. of Pinguicula caerulea

Robert Bachand

Basal rosette of broadly elliptical, light green leaves that are sticky above to capture insects. The basal leaves are identical to P. lutea so need the flowers to distinguish the two species.

Green Swamp (Brunswick and Columbus Counties, NC)

The Scientific Name is Pinguicula caerulea. You will likely hear them called Blue Butterwort, Blueflower Butterwort. This picture shows the Basal rosette of broadly elliptical, light green leaves that are sticky above to capture insects. The basal leaves are identical to P. lutea so need the flowers to distinguish the two species. of Pinguicula caerulea

Robert Bachand

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record



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