Utricularia bifida ("Mimikakigusa")

Japanese name: ミミカキグサ （耳掻草）
Scientific name: Utricularia bifida

[Overview]
A perennial found in damp sandy places, peatlands, and in sphagnum moss in wetlands.
A carnivorous plant.
White thread-like underground stems creep horizontally; in water or mud they bear linear aquatic leaves, and near the ground surface they bear aerial leaves.
The aerial leaves are spatulate, 0.5–1 cm long, entire and hairless.
Bladders are borne on the underground stems and elsewhere.
The bladders are spherical, about 0.5–1 mm in diameter, with a mouth at the base; the mouth has a valve that opens inward, and when microorganisms approach, the valve opens and sucks them in.
A raceme on an erect flower stalk 5–15 cm tall bears 1–10 flowers.
Scale leaves grow on the lower part of the flower stalk.
The flowers are yellow and lipped, with the base of the lower lip swollen.
Behind the flower is a conical, downward-pointing spur that curves forward.
The flower stalk lengthens after flowering, and the calyx also develops large and ear-pick-shaped, enclosing the fruit.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by division.
Sow seed as soon as it is collected.
If the environment suits it, it also spreads by self-sown seed.
Plant it in sphagnum moss or peat moss alone and keep it in a sunny place.
Stand the pot in a tray of water so that it always stays moist.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary.
There are no particular pests or diseases.

[Notes]
The name compares the calyx, which grows large after flowering, to an ear pick.

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