Utricularia gibba

humped bladderwort

A small, mat-forming aquatic bladderwort found in shallow, nutrient-poor still or slow water across much of the Americas, Africa, southern Europe, Asia and Australia. Its thread-like stems catch tiny animals in bladder traps, and it produces small yellow flowers above the water whenever conditions suit. In cultivation it is one of the easiest aquatic bladderworts and often turns up as a weed in other carnivorous plant pots.

Utricularia gibba — Photo: Alex Popovkin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodAquatic

Where it grows wild

Ponds, lake margins, ditches, pools, bogs, swamps and marshes with still or slow-moving, nutrient-poor water. It floats freely or anchors loosely in shallow water and waterlogged mud, forming tangled mats of stolons about 20 cm long.

Mostly lowland. Only 6 wild records carry an elevation (105–825 m, median 437 m), too few to describe its full range.

Eastern and central North AmericaMexico, Central America and the CaribbeanSouth AmericaMediterranean Europe and North AfricaTropical and southern Africa, MadagascarSouth and South-east Asia, southern China, JapanAustralia, New Guinea and New Caledonia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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More Utricularia

Utricularia resupinata Utricularia inflata Utricularia dichotoma Utricularia livida Utricularia aurea Utricularia caerulea Utricularia macrorhiza Utricularia pubescens Utricularia sandersonii Utricularia uliginosa Utricularia andongensis Utricularia arenaria All 287 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.