Pinguicula orchidioides

Pinguicula orchidioides (pronounced /pɪŋˈɡwɪkjʊlə ɔrkɪdɨˈɔɪdiːz/) is a perennial rosette-forming insectivorous herb native to Mexico and Guatemala. 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. Uniquely among Pinguicula species from the Americas, p. orchidioides produces gemma-like basal buds which elongate into stolons and serve as a means of asexual reproduction. 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 September on upright stalks up to 22 centimeters long.

The species was first described in 1844 by Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle, but following an unfortunate misidentification by his contemporary William Jackson Hooker, was relegated to the ranks of botanical synonymy and generally forgotten until it was rediscovered through the works of botanists in the 1990s.

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 orchidioides refers to dainty, orchid-like flowers.

P. orchidioides produces one to three flowers during each flowering period. These are borne singly on upright flower stalks which are 7 to 22 centimeters (3–9 in.) long, cherry red in color, and glabrous except near the calyx.

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 18–26 millimeter long spur which protrudes backwards roughly perpendicular to the rest of the flower.

The violet-purple flowers are 30 to 48 millimeters (1 ¼–2 in.) long, and have a deeply bilabiate corolla, with an 2-lobed upper lip and a 3-lobed lower lip. The upper lobes are 10–14 millimeters (⅜–⅝ in.) long by 5–9 millimeters (3⁄16–⅜ in.) wide and generally oblong-obovate. The outer lower lobes are oblong-lanceolate, 11–16 millimeters (¼–¾ in.) long by 4–7 millimeters (5⁄32–7⁄32 in.) wide, narrowing at the tip.

The central lower lobe is slightly longer than its neighbors, 15–19 millimeters (⅝–¾ in.) long by 4–5 millimeters (5⁄32–3⁄16 in.) wide, and is marked with a white stripe at its base. The floral tube that houses the reproductive organs and is visible at the base of corolla lobes is short 3–4 millimeters (⅛–5⁄32 in.) long and lacks a palate.

The ovary and attached pistil protrude from the top of the floral tube near its opening, with the receptive stigma surface toward the front. Anthers hang from recurved filaments behind the pistil. Pollinators exiting after collecting nectar from the spur brush against the anther, transferring pollen to the stigma of the next flower they visit. The flowers can last up to 10 days but will wilt once they are pollinated. Pollinated ovaries ripen into 4–5 millimeter (5⁄32–3⁄16 in.) dehiscent seed capsules containing numerous 1 millimeter long seeds.



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



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