''Pinguicula laxifolia'' is an insectivorous plant of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Pinguicula ''Pinguicula'', commonly known as butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they ...

'' native to the Mexican state of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, the only member of the

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

'' Orchidioides''. Its pendulous leaves are unusual in the genus, which features mostly species with stiff or succulent leaves.

Morphology

''Pinguicula laxifolia'' is a perennial rosetted

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

bearing pendulous to semi-erect elliptic or oblanceolate long leaves."Luhrs, H.; ''New additions to the genus Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae) of Mexico'' Phytologia, 1995, vol. 79 (2), pages 114 - 122 ( vailable in http://epbb.club.fr/Publications/P_stolonifera_P_laxifolia.pdf pdf These are densely covered with stalked mucilaginous and sessile digestive glands, which serve to trap and digest

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

prey and absorb the resulting nutrient mixture to supplement their nitrate-low environment. ''P. laxifolia'' forms Winter rosettes of succulent, non-carnivorous leaves to conserve energy through the cool, dry seasons, and as a means of self-propagation. The flowers are pink to pale violet, with a white throat and darker violet markings. They are thought to appear from February through March.

Distribution and habitat

''Pinguicula laxifolia'' is known only from its remote type location in the "El Cielo" cloudforest bioreserve in

, Mexico. Here it grows on well-shaded vertical rock walls from 6300 to 6800 ft. in altitude. Although it appears to have an extremely restricted distribution, little is yet known about this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2095668 Carnivorous plants of North America laxifolia Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Tamaulipas Plants described in 1995