Butterwort, Pinguicula agnata

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Overview

Pinguicula agnata, better known as Butterwort, is a popular a kitchen window plant due to its ability to trap fruit flies and gnats. Its leaves possess glandular structures that produce sticky droplets that capture and digest insects. When a bug is ensnared and starts to struggle, more glands are activated and the insect becomes fully encased in the droplets. After digestion of the bug occurs, the leaves absorb the nutrients through small holes, leaving the exoskeleton on the leaf surface.

Mature size reaching up to 10cm in diameter. Suited to partial to full sun or a grow light equivalent. You may feed them bugs, dried bloodworms, fish food or diluted foliar fertilizer such as Seagro (2ml/L) every 2-3 weeks. Environment should be of typical humidity, soil kept damp but not wet. Optimal temperature range of 12 to 32 degrees Celsius. Leaves may shrink somewhat in winter during dormancy, but should remain carnivorous.

Botanical name

Pinguicula agnata