Butterwort, pinguicula

Butterworts are small herbaceous plants that produce rosettes of usually flat leaves, often with upturned margins.  The leaf surface is covered in minute, sticky hairs that catch small prey like gnats, fruit flies and springtails.  Sessile glands secrete a liquid of enzymes and acids that rapidly overcome and dissolve the prey.  This mineral-rich soup is then absorbed by the plant. Butterworts from cold winter climates hibernate as small buds.  Species from Mexico turn into non-carnivorous succulent plants during the subtropical winter dry season.

Butterworts are most famous for their beautiful, often long-lasting flowers, which are hummingbird pollinated in the wild.

3" pot