Pinguicula pumila & Pinguicula caerulea in the Field

Pinguicula pumila flower

Back when I had a film camera (and could sometimes borrow a better film camera), I would go out in early summer and take pictures of the local Pinguicula. Most times, I would find a small stand of P. pumila and photograph them, since they would often have more flowers than either Pinguicula lutea or Pinguicula caerulea (both of which were native to my area).

Pinguicula pumila

I often found the native Pinguicula growing in roadside ditches. Often, they would be present in the lowest part of the ditch - which often did not have standing water because where I lived in Florida had very sandy soil - and the non-roadside side of the ditch. (My theory is the road runoff was slightly toxic for carnivorous plants).

Pinguicula pumila

I particularly enjoyed finding stands of P. pumila because they were much smaller than their relatives, Pinguicula lutea and caerulea. In hindsight, I'm curious to know whether hybrids between these three species are ever accomplished. I do not recall a single instance of flower seeming outside the scope of what was typical for any of the species, and non-flower plants are distinguishable only by the fact that P. pumila is smaller than both P. lutea and P. caerulea. (I never could find a way to reliably distinguish between P. lutea and P. caerulea when the plants were not flowering, as they looked identical to me, even after hours of study).

Pinguicula pumila showing the sharply folded leaves characteristic of its species

One of the more interesting observations I made was that P. pumila often had more sharply folded leaves than P. lutea or P. caerulea. Both of the latter species had larger, broader leaves that were often more exposed to the elements than P. pumila's closely folded leaves.

Pinguicula caerulea

This plant, undoubtedly a P. caerulea (due to flower color), shows off the characteristic distinctions of leaf pattern between it and P. pumila, which has similarly colored - though lighter colored - flowers. P. caerulea and P. lutea would often be seen with three to five flower stalks during a growing season, while P. pumila would more often have one or two. Additionally. P. caerulea and P. lutea seemed less ready to propagate through new growth occurring along the leaves than P. pumila, which could often be found in dense clusters.