Common Butterwort

Pinguicula vulgaris
Lentibulariaceae/Bladderwort Family

This is one of the very few plants in Alaska that east insects! Butterworts grow in moist habitats such as bogs, tundra, streambanks and lake shores. It has reddish stems and grows 3-5" from slimy, yellowish-green leaves that lay flat on the ground and are rolled inward at the edges. The purple flowers look like purple violets and have slender spur growing from the backside. Butterworts, like sundews, usually grow in areas low in available nitrogen, and they supplement their diet by entrapping insects. The slimy leaves at as flytraps for small insects who get stuck. The plant secretes enzymes that digest the soft tissues of the insect. The genus Pinquicula is from the Latin pinquis "fat" in reference to the greasy leaves; vulgaris means "the usual one" or "common". The name "butterwort" refers to the leaves, which look as if they have been smeared in butter.