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Butterworts of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve by Paul Miller

3/15/2014

8 Comments

 

Beautiful Butterworts, by Paul Miller

Pinguicula luteaP. lutea, ©Paul Miller
What do you do if you’re a plant growing in soil that doesn’t provide enough nourishment? Well, how about eating insects? Kissimmee Prairie Preserve has several species of plants that actually eat insects: sundews, bladderworts, butterworts, and one species of pitcher plant. Here we discuss the winter/spring blooming butterworts.

Butterworts, or ‘Pings’ (an abbreviation of the scientific genus Pinguicula), are members of an insectivorous plant family called the Lentibulariaceae which includes the bladderworts. It is the most species rich family of carnivorous plants on Earth. By definition, carnivorous plants make their living digesting the protein provided by insects that they capture.

Butterwort basal rosetteClick to enlarge. Basal rosette of a Blueflower Butterwort.
The butterworts that occur in the Preserve are perennial and spend much of their life cycle as a ‘basal rosette’— a cluster of leaves that remain flat on the ground. The upper surface of the leaves have minute hairs topped with glands (best seen with a dissecting microscope) that exude a sticky substance. Small insects such as gnats become stuck to the surface of the leaves and are chemically digested providing nutrients to the plant. The basal rosettes of butterworts remain relatively inconspicuous in the prairie. They spend most of their life cycle eating bugs, quietly hidden from view by grasses and other plants that reach to the sky until it is time to flower.

The earliest species of butterwort to flower in the Preserve is the delicate Small Butterwort (Pinguicula pumila). As you might guess from its common name, of the three species of pings in the Preserve, this is the smallest. Interestingly, Small Butterwort blooms in the fall-winter in Florida but in April-May in the rest of the southeast. In November 2013 the species was observed flowering in an area where the ground orchid Fragrant Ladiestresses (Spiranthes odorata) was blooming. (More on ladies tresses in a future blog post!)

As January rolls into February, and on into March, a real treat occurs. Two species of butterwort, both listed as threatened in the state of Florida, begin to reveal themselves with very beautiful and showy flowers: Yellow-flowered Butterwort (Pinguicula lutea) and  Blueflower Butterwort (P. caerulea). In one location, ‘Butterwort Marsh’, they even occur together, making a subtle, yet stunning display.
Pinguicula pumila flower
Small Butterwort (P. pumila)
Pinguicula lutea
Yellow-flowered Butterwort (P. lutea) ©Paul Miller
Pinguicula caerulea
Blueflower Butterwort (P. caerulea)
Pinguicula caerulea(P. caerulea)
The Yellow-flowered Butterwort is much more common in the Preserve and folks on a Prairie Buggy tour should keep their eyes on the sides of the trail during these months to catch a glimpse. The Blueflower Butterwort is less common and likely has a more specific habitat requirement. Who knows why the Blueflower is so picky? Perhaps a curious mind will be inspired to investigate the habitat and figure that out.

P. Miller with Spiranthes, best selfie ever
Guest author, Paul Miller started working at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in 2002 on the endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. In 2004 he became the Preserve's full time biologist. Since then, he has been casually studying the diversity of prairie plants when he isn’t sitting at his desk frantically trying to stay ahead of paperwork.


8 Comments
Anna M christoff link
3/15/2014 10:30:38 am

Enjoyed reading about Butterworts of Kissimmee Prairie truly amazing! Having the pleasure of knowing Paul Miller for many years I am very proud of his accomplishments. Butterworts of Kissimmee Prairie was very informative.

Reply
Linda and Buck Cooper
3/15/2014 10:44:49 am

Great article Paul. Taking a match to the paperwork would give you more prairie time 😎

Reply
Janet Kusmierek
12/13/2015 05:08:45 pm

Went on the swamp buggy ride today at the park. A fellow passenger pointed out the butterworts and other plants! We had a wonderful time

Reply
Christina link
12/16/2015 09:24:51 am

Thank you, Janet! I'm happy to see that you found our site and the article about the butterworts. Greatly enjoyed the buggy ride with you and the others. Hope that you come back soon! Best, Christina Evans

Reply
Katherine Bales
8/21/2019 08:34:55 pm

How do native plant enthusiasts and carnivorous plant collectors find reputable sellers of plants that are ethically and sustainably collected and propagated? I would love to have a bog, but I am not confident I won't contributing to the demand that drives over harvesting that is deteriorating sensitive populations.

Reply
Kian Finnegan link
11/25/2020 01:21:53 am

Nice ppost

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James Michael Thaxton
11/6/2021 03:52:44 pm

Did a curiously quick search, thus avoiding rows of my own digital pictures, of a purple carnivorous plant's flower that I took during a visit to Jonathan Dickinson State Park (S. Hobe Sound or N. Jupiter). It was so beautiful. Purplish Blue with streaky veins inside it's bell and I remember it having this distinct "C-curve" SWOOP at the dorsal or back end of the flowers; I suppose that is where the bugs might be trapped in a high pH liquid, for digestive purposes.

Anyway, Yes. It was in a little off the trail bog that I stubled upon which included, sundew, charming Grass Pink Orchids, sundew's were JUST kicking up their floresenct flower spick, but the buds were still in a curled fashion, so no flower show there. Nonetheless, this little bog was like a microcosm amongst pine flats and palmetto scrubs or visa vera, I forget. Awesome little plant. I missed the plant part, I believe, in the picture's I took. The good thing about it all, at least to me anyways, is that I brought along my Canon EOS Rebel and it was top line at the time, circa 2010 - I think. Thanks for Posting!!!!

Reply
Erik
4/12/2022 08:46:18 am

The digestion occurs on the leaves (or in Urticularia, in the bladders). Plants try not to kill direct floral visitors, since they need these animals to transport their pollen in order to reproduce. You found a nectar spur, where sugary water is stored to reward pollinators.

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