Utricularia stellaris

Utricularia stellaris is a free-floating bladderwort that occurs from northern Australia through Asia to tropical Africa, including Madagascar, Mauritius and the Comoros.¹ In its natural habitats it colonises shallow waters that are soft to medium-hard and acidic to slightly alkaline.¹ It is also treated as a variety of U. inflexa, but has elliptic to ovate floats, whose star-shaped arrangement explains the species name, and yellow flowers with only faint red striping.¹

In the aquarium this rare species thrives, but usually does not grow quite as large as in the wild.¹ Good results require bright light, an algae-free tank and a suitable nutrient supply, with nitrogen, potassium and magnesium regarded as particularly important.¹ According to experiments, the bladder traps are not needed for vigorous growth, whereas organic feeding stimulates flowering.¹