Family: bladderworts (Lentibulariaceae)
Bloom time: May–August
Size: 5–15 cm
Habitat: damp rocky places and scree, low bogs and marshy areas by mountain streams
Yellow-green, strap-shaped leaves of the Alpine butterwort (Pinguicula alpina) form a compact rosette. They are covered with glands, which are absent only along the central vein. The Alpine butterwort is a 'carnivorous' plant, since the sticky secretions of its glands on its leaves contain digestive enzymes. Tiny invertebrates get trapped on the sticky leaves, which are digested by the digestive enzymes. From the proteins of trapped animals the plant obtains nitrogen-containing compounds necessary for growth and development. In this way it has adapted to life in barren habitats. At the tip of the non-lignified flowering stalks there is a white flower 1 to 1.5 cm long. Its mouth is yellow and ends with a 2–5 mm long spur.
The Alpine butterwort thrives in very barren, constantly moist habitats. In Slovenia it is found in the alpine, subalpine and Dinaric regions.
