Pinguicula ehlersiae

Pinguicula ehlersiae is a small butterwort native to Mexico with an attractive, compact rosette of leaves, which can be cultivated in terrariums or on windowsills. It turns reddish in sufficient light.

It reaches a diameter of only about 3 cm and blooms on a long flower stalk with individual, lilac flowers that are almost as large as the whole plant.

In its natural habitat, it grows exposed on limestone cliffs, or in small crevices and pits in these rocks where some moisture is retained. It is extremely hardy and has a dormant form into which it can switch when conditions are unsuitable for growth, which is the case in nature during the dry season.

Butterworts ( Pinguicula ) are carnivorous plants that trap their prey using sticky secretions on their fleshy leaves. These leaves attract all sorts of small insects almost magically and essentially act as biological yellow sticky traps. Fungus gnats, in particular, seem to love butterworts. When the prey gets stuck to the leaf and dies, numerous glands on the leaf begin secreting digestive enzymes that dissolve the prey. All that remains is an empty husk, which is washed away by the next rain.

In nature , Pinguicula ehlersiae develops leaves during the dry season (and in our winter) that are somewhat more compact and thicker than the normal leaves, and are also not sticky.