Collection: Utricularia - Bladderwort

Bladderwort, or Utricularia, is one of those plants that seems almost too weird to be real. It’s a carnivorous plant, but unlike the flashy Venus flytrap or the slow-sipping pitcher plant, bladderwort does its thing underwater—or sometimes in really soggy soil. It’s got these tiny bladder-like traps, smaller than a grain of rice, that suck in prey like little vacuum chambers. When something like a tiny insect or crustacean triggers the hairs around the trap door, the bladder snaps open and pulls the victim in with surprising force. It’s basically nature’s mousetrap—just on a microscopic scale.

What’s wild is that Utricularia doesn’t even have roots. It just kind of floats or loosely anchors itself, getting nutrients from its prey and photosynthesis. It’s found all over the world, from ponds and bogs to tropical wetlands. There are over 200 species, and they can be surprisingly beautiful, too—some with bright yellow or purple flowers that look way too delicate for something that’s secretly a killer. It’s one of those plants that makes you rethink what plants are even capable of. Deadly and delicate—how’s that for a combo?