View source for Utricularia inflata

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Lentibulariaceae
|genus=Utricularia
|species=inflata
|common_name=Floating bladderwort
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|habit=aquatic
|habit_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max ht box=12
|Max ht metric=in
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max wd box=12
|Max wd metric=in
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|lifespan=perennial
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|exposure=part-sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|features=invasive
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=9
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=11
|image=BU Utric.jpg
|image_width=240
}}
'''''Utricularia inflata''''', commonly known as the '''swollen bladderwort''', '''inflated bladderwort''', or '''large floating bladderwort''', is a large suspended aquatic [[carnivorous plant]] that belongs to the [[genus]] ''[[Utricularia]]''. It is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] that is native to the southeastern coastal plains of the [[United States]]. It has often been confused with ''[[Utricularia radiata|U. radiata]]'', which is similar but smaller than ''U. inflata''. It is one of the few carnivorous plants that can be [[invasive species|invasive]].

''U. inflata'' is one of the larger suspended aquatic species in the genus ''Utricularia''. Like all aquatic ''Utricularia'', ''U. inflata'' has no true roots or leaves. The [[wikt:filiform|filiform]] [[stolon]]s are the main vegetative "stem" of the plant and can be up to one meter long or longer but are only 1–2&nbsp;mm thick. The stolons are [[glabrous]] with 1–5&nbsp;cm between branched divisions. Occasionally the stolons will produce floating air shoots at the water's surface and [[tuber]]-like organs in the [[substrate (marine biology)|substrate]]. Its filiform leaf-like structures appear to be additional branches off the main stolon and are tiny, filament-like structures that are not true leaves, though the terminology is often disputed among experts. The leaf structures are numerous and anywhere from 2–18&nbsp;cm long, originating from the stolon base into two primary and unequal segments, which are further divided extensively into additional segments. The stalked, ovoid traps, 1–3&nbsp;mm long, are produced on the latter leaf segments and are very numerous.<ref name="Taylor 1989" />

In its native range, ''U. inflata'', a perennial species, can begin to flower in January and may continue through June. In this phase of its growth it produces the most visible and noticeable [[plant morphology|morphological]] features of the species: a floating spoke-like [[whorl]] of spongy structures at the water's surface that support the [[inflorescence]]s, often called a "float". ''U. inflata'' typically produces 6 to 8 spokes on the float (sometimes anywhere from 5 to 10), with each spoke 3–10&nbsp;cm long and up to 8&nbsp;mm wide. The apical half of the spokes bear numerous, [[wikt:dichotomy|dichotomously]] branched leaf-like segments that can also possess some traps. The 20–50&nbsp;cm long erect inflorescences are produced from the center of the floating whorl and are usually solitary or possess very few [[scape (botany)|scapes]] for each whorl. An individual plant can produce several whorls and inflorescences, but they are typically distant from each other. The inflorescences produce 9-14 (sometimes 4-17) flowers with unequal [[calyx (botany)|calyx]] lobes, 3–5&nbsp;mm long. The entire [[wikt:corolla|corolla]] can be 2-2.5&nbsp;cm long and is bright yellow with brown-colored veins on the [[spur (biology)|spur]] and brown markings on the lower corolla lobe.<ref name="Taylor 1989" />

This species has a [[diploid]] [[chromosome]] number of 2n&nbsp;=&nbsp;18 for the most common form and 2n&nbsp;=&nbsp;36 for the larger [[polyploidy|tetraploid]] populations.<ref name="Lewis et al. 1962">Lewis, W.H., Stripling, H.L., and Ross, R.G. (1962). Chromosome numbers for some angiosperms of the southern United States and Mexico. ''Rhodora'', 64: 147-161.</ref> The larger tetraploid "[[race (biology)|race]]", as [[Peter Taylor (botanist)|Peter Taylor]] called it, can be up to twice as large as the regular diploid species. Populations of this race have been located in Florida.<ref name="Taylor 1989" />