Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons,[2] is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. It is a widespread species with mauve or purple fan-shaped flowers on a slender stalk and usually grows in wet locations.
Description
Utricularia dichotoma is a perennial herb with numerous underground trailing stems with bladders 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) in diameter. It has absent or a few variable leaves, oval-spathulate 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long to narrow-lanceolate and up to 40 mm (1.6 in) long. The former is more typical of plants growing in wet soil, the latter of plants growing fully submerged. The inflorescence are borne on a slender, wiry stem 5–50 cm (2.0–19.7 in) long, they are solitary, in pairs or whorls of three or four flowers in clusters near the end of the stem. Each mauve or purple flower has a small upper petal and a broader, semicircular lower lip 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) wide with two or three prominent white or yellow markings, and the corolla is 12–22 mm (0.47–0.87 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to April and the fruit is a globular capsule up to 4 mm (0.16 in) wide.[3][4][5][6]
Fairy aprons has a large range and is native to New Caledonia, it grows in all states of Australia and in New Zealand on the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura — this being the most southerly location at which a member of this genus occurs. It grows in moist and wet locations.[5][9]
^W.M. Curtis. 1967. The Student's Flora of Tasmania. St. David's Park Publishing, Hobart, Tasmania. Vol. 3, p. 536
^Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (2010). Native Plants of the Sydney Region (3rd ed.). Sydney: Jacana Books. p. 405. ISBN9781741755718.
^ abSharp, Sarah; Rehwinkel, Rainer; Mallinson, Dave; Eddy, David (2015). Woodland Flora a field guide for the Southern Tableland (1st ed.). Canberra: Friends of Grasslands. p. 202. ISBN9780994495808.
^Rowe, R.; Brown, E.A. "Utricularia dichotoma". PlantNET-NSW flora online. Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
