According to Ruiz unless otherwise noted. Nutrients derived from the prey are used to supplement the nutrient-poor substrate that the plant grows in. In the winter the plant forms a non-carnivorous rosette of small, fleshy leaves that conserves energy while food and moisture supplies are low. Single pink, purple, or violet flowers appear twice a year on upright stalks up to 25 centimeters long.
The extremely variable species has been redefined at least twice since, [4] [5] [6] while several new species have been segregated from it based on various geographical or morphological distinctions, although the legitimacy of some of these is still debated. The generic name Pinguicula is derived from the Latin pinguis meaning "fat" due to the buttery texture of the surface of the carnivorous leaves. The specific epithet moranensis refers to its type location, Mina de Moran.
These so-called "summer leaves" are replaced by "winter rosettes" of small, glandless succulent leaves with the onset of the dry season in October. This protective winter rosette allows the plant to undergo winter dormancy until the first rains begin in May. The leaf blades of the summer rosettes of P. The laminae are generally obovate to orbicular , between 5. As with all members of the genus, these leaf blades are densely covered by peduncular stalked mucilaginous glands and sessile flat digestive glands.
The peduncular glands consist of a few secretory cells on top of a single-celled stalk. These cells produce a mucilaginous secretion which forms visible droplets across the leaf surface.
This wet appearance probably helps lure prey in search of water; a similar phenomenon is observed in the sundews. The droplets secrete only limited enzymes and serve mainly to entrap insects. On contact with an insect, the peduncular glands release additional mucilage from special reservoir cells located at the base of their stalks.
