Sign in Start free
Species library › Utricularia › Utricularia nelumbifolia
Carnivorous Well documented

Utricularia nelumbifolia

A striking Brazilian bladderwort that lives in the water-filled tanks of large Vriesea bromeliads, with round, shield-shaped leaves held above the water and purple to pale lilac flowers. It spreads by sending aerial runners down into neighbouring bromeliads. Grow it like a bromeliad-tank plant: cool-intermediate, bright and permanently wet.

Utricularia nelumbifolia
Photo: Noah Elhardt, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodAquatic

Where it grows wild

It is restricted to the water held in the leaf axils of large Vriesea bromeliads. Herbarium labels place these bromeliads mostly on granite inselbergs, rocky escarpments and 'vegetation islands' on bare rock, such as Pedra do Cabrito and the Forno Grande massif in Espírito Santo and the Serra dos Órgãos area of Rio de Janeiro. The bladders sit in the tank water while the peltate leaves stand in the open air.

Reported from about 800–2200 m. GBIF records with elevations range from about 550 m to about 1500 m, mostly 800–1500 m.

Brazil (Espírito Santo)Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)Brazil (Minas Gerais)Brazil (southern Bahia)

🔒 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

Grow Utricularia nelumbifolia? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Utricularia

Utricularia resupinata Utricularia inflata Utricularia gibba Utricularia dichotoma Utricularia livida Utricularia aurea Utricularia caerulea Utricularia macrorhiza Utricularia pubescens Utricularia sandersonii Utricularia uliginosa Utricularia andongensis 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 2.5 licence, unmodified.