Pinguicula elizabethiae

Pinguicula elizabethiae is a perennial rosette-forming insectivorous herb native to the Mexican states of Querétaro and Hidalgo. A species of butterwort, it forms summer rosettes of flat, succulent leaves up to 5 centimeters (4 in) long, which are covered in mucilagenous (sticky) glands that attract, trap, and digest arthropod prey.

Nutrients derived from the prey are used to supplement the nutrient-poor substrate that the plant grows in. In the winter the plant forms a non-carnivorous rosette of small, fleshy leaves that conserves energy while food and moisture supplies are low. Single purple flowers appear between July and October on upright stalks up to 75 millimeters long.

The species was described in 1999 by S. Zamudio, who placed in the section Orcheosanthus. It is closely related to P. colimensis.

The generic name Pinguicula is derived from the Latin pinguis (meaning "fat") due to the buttery texture of the surface of the carnivorous leaves. The specific epithet elizabethiae refers to Zamudio's friend Elizabeth Arguelles, an enthusiastic collector of flora from Querétaro.

P. elizabethiae produces one to five flowers during each flowering period. These are borne singly on upright flower stalks which are 3.5 to 7.5 centimeters (1+3⁄8–3 in.) long and are covered in glandular trichomes. Most flowers are pinkish, but colors ranging from violet to off-white have been observed.

The flowers themselves are composed of five petals which are fused at one end. The throat, the portion of the flower near the attachment point which holds the reproductive organs, is funnel shaped, and the petals flare out from there into a five-lobed zygomorphic corolla. Below the attachment point to the stem the petals are fused into a 15–28 millimeter (⅝–1+1⁄8 in.) long spur which protrudes backwards roughly perpendicular to the rest of the flower.



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinguicula_elizabethiae



See Also: flower sydney, flowers philippines, flowers jamaica