WILD IDEAS
PALE BUTTERWORT (Pinguicula lusitanica) FAMILY:
Lentibulariaceae (butterworts)
This little beauty is a species that occurs on wet heaths and bogs. Although I see this species fairly frequently, it’s always a treat to find. In Ireland, we have three species of butterwort – pale, common and large-flowered (the latter is very much a Kerry/ Cork speciality). Like other butterworts, this species is a carnivorous plant whose leaves secrete a sticky gluelike substance that traps small flies and insects, which are then digested by the plant. The leaves of all three species occur as a basal rosette; in the pale butterwort, the leaves are a dark olive/brown green that blend in easily to its damp surroundings – so often, it’s the flower you notice first. The leaves of the common and largeflowered are bright green and are much more conspicuous.
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Miniature Marvels
Jessica Hamilton on the magical appeal of nature’s tiniest plants.
Irish Wildlife Autumn ‘19
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31/10/2019 13:40
