Utricularia dichotoma
fairy aprons
Overview
Utricularia dichotoma is a small carnivorous perennial of wet ground, known as fairy aprons for its purple flowers. Most of the plant is hidden: networks of slender, leafless stems and tiny bladder-like traps lie in the soil or shallow water, capturing small aquatic and soil organisms to supplement nutrients in its poor, waterlogged habitat. Above ground it sends up slender stalks 4-14 inches (10-35 cm) tall, each carrying one to several violet-purple flowers with a yellow throat patch and a broad lower lip shaped like a little apron, about 0.4-0.8 inch (10-20 mm) across. Native to Australia and New Zealand, it grows in bogs, seepage areas, swamp margins, and the edges of pools, in acidic, permanently moist to shallow-flooded ground. It depends on constant moisture and low-nutrient conditions and declines in rich or dry soil. The tiny traps are too small to harm anything larger than micro-organisms, so the plant poses no risk to people or pets. Flowering runs from spring through autumn, with the slender stems holding the flowers above the wet surface. It spreads through the soil and self-seeds where conditions stay wet.
Native Range
Native to Australia and New Zealand, where it grows in bogs, seepage lines, swamp margins, and the edges of shallow pools on acidic, permanently wet ground. It is widespread in temperate wetland habitats.Suggested Uses
Used in bog gardens, carnivorous-plant collections, pond margins, and water trays in consistently wet, acidic conditions. Suited to container culture in peat-sand mixes kept saturated, grouped for a low display of purple flowers.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height4" - 1'2"
Width/Spread2" - 6"
Reaches mature size in approximately 1 years
Bloom Information
Violet-purple flowers open from spring through autumn, roughly September to March, on slender upright stalks above the wet ground. Each stalk carries one to several flowers with a yellow throat patch. Flowering is strongest in warm weather where the soil stays wet.
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
Violet-purple with yellow throatFoliage Description
GreenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight
Care & Maintenance
Care Guide
Grows in full sun to part shade in permanently wet, acidic, low-nutrient soil such as peat and sand mixes. Constant moisture is essential, and the plant is often stood in a tray of water or grown at a pond margin. Fertilizer is harmful, as the plant gathers nutrients by trapping micro-organisms in its bladders. Rainwater or distilled water suits it better than hard tap water. It is moderately frost-tolerant and dies back in cold winters, regrowing in spring. In cultivation it is grown by carnivorous-plant enthusiasts in bog gardens and water trays.Pruning
No pruning is needed. Spent flower stalks can be removed once seed has set, and dead growth cleared as it dies back for winter. The underground stems and traps are left undisturbed.Container Growing
✓ Suitable for container growing
Minimum container size: 1 gallons