First record of Utricularia breviscapa C.Wright ex Griseb. (Lentibulariaceae) in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

Abstract

Utricularia breviscapa C.Wright ex Griseb. belongs to the Lentibulariaceae, a family of carnivorous plants with many aquatic species. We report a new record of U. breviscapa in a perennial wetland along the São João River, in a Lowland Forest within the Atlantic Forest biome. This is the first record of this species from the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Utricularia breviscapa differs from the its aquatic congeners in South America by the presence of a whorl of 3–7 basally connate cylindrical floats at the base of the floral scape, and by the primary and secondary leaf-segments arranged into groups of threes.