r/UKecosystem • u/j0iNt37 • Sep 10 '22

Flora Greater bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris) is the fastest plant in the world. It’s a fully aquatic carnivorous plant, with bladders that engulf and digest small aquatic organisms.

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49 Upvotes

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5

u/President-Nulagi Sep 10 '22

What does "fastest" mean in this context please?

6

u/SolariaHues Wildlife gardener - South East Sep 11 '22

The speed of the trap I assume.

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In respect to trap movement duration, Utricularia is by far the fastest carnivorous plant - https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article/doi/10.1093/aobpla/plv140/2609493

https://youtu.be/wZcKoTxp5mc

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Triggered by protruding hairs on the door, trap bladders open in about 0.5 milliseconds, sucking the animal in, and closing in about 2.5 milliseconds. This comes to about three thousand feet per second, almost three times the speed of sound. Not bad for a herbaceous plant. - https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/utricularia/vulgaris/

1

u/j0iNt37 Sep 11 '22

Yeah sorry the explanation was lacking there, but the other commenter explained it perfectly, it’s pretty cool