Utricularia purpurea (Purple bladderwort)

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Utricularia purpurea Walter

Purple bladderwort

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Lamiales	Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary
Family	Lentibulariaceae	A family of carnivorous plants containing three genera: Genlisea, the corkscrew plants; Pinguicula, the butterworts; and Utricularia, the bladderworts
Genus	Utricularia	From the Latin utriculus, “a small bag or bladder,” the common name of which is bladderwort
Species	purpurea	Purple

About plant names...

Purple bladderwort is found in (mostly under) quiet, acidic ponds. Tiny “bladders” attached to submersed leaf segments ingest small aquatic creatures, nourishing the bladderwort, so technically this plant is carnivorous. But the relationship between plant and prey is really a synergy: bladdwort harbors algae, zooplankton, and debris in its bladders, thus both feeding and eating its prey.

Plants: Plants are mostly submersed, up to 3' (91 cm) in size, floating in shallow water. It lacks roots, but has large networks of tiny leaves that look somewhat like patches of algae.

Leaves: In whorls of 5-7, divided into lacy-looking threadlike segments that divide repeatedly. Many segments have a bladder at the end.

Flowers: In groups of 1-4, thrust above the water surface a 2-6" (5-15 cm) on bare, maroon stems. Each flower is purple or red-purple, with a yellow spot in the center, and irregularly shaped. Flowers somewhat resemble snapdragons, and are ¼-½" (7.6-12 mm) in size. They appear from July to September.

Fruits: Round capsules.

Online References:

Minnesota Wildflowers

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

The Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site

The University of Florida IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (A video)

Wikipedia

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 134