Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, July 1, 2005.

Often just the tiny yellow flower of Utricularia macrorhiza shows above the water surface.  In this picture you can see the flower stem system supporting five fully opened flowers and a number of buds.  Submerged are the leaves and bladders.  (See below.)

Linnaeus named and described this genus and species in 1753.  "Utricularia" is Latin for "a little bag" and refers to the bladder pods (shown below).  

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, July 1, 2005.

Flowers are about a third of an inch in diameter.

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Haviland Lake Trail, July 1, 2005.

The web of submerged growth appears to be roots but is the finely divided leaves.  Here they are coated with pond growth, but the bladders, inflated leaf segments, clearly show and to the right of and above center where I cleaned off the pond growth, you can see the vein-like leaf system.  Utricularia macrorhiza is carnivorous; its bladders have a minute opening that traps insects, crustaceans, and Parameciums.

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Grindstone Lake Trail, August 25, 2006.

Utricularia minor grows in shallow ponds and slow moving streams.  It is a very slender plant easily overlooked.  Leaves are only about 5 millimeters wide and are cut into fine divisions.  Yellow flowers (not shown) are about half the size of those of U. macrorhiza.  Marian Rohman found these first known specimens from the West Slope of Colorado.  U. minor is not found in New Mexico or in the Four Corners area of Utah but is in Apache County, the Arizona county touching the Four Corners. 

Utricularia minor is circumboreal and in the northern hemisphere it is found across Canada and in all western United States (where it is rare to uncommon) and across the northern tier of states where it is more common.

Linnaeus named this species in 1753 from specimens collected in Europe.

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Grindstone Lake Trail, August 25, 2006.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Utricularia macrorhiza

Range map for Utricularia minor