Photographs: Ballingeary, Co. Cork

Pale Butterwort Pinguicula lusitanica Leith uisce beag Family: Lentibulariaceae Flowering time: July-October Perennial. Native. Small pale lilac-pink flowers, often tinged yellow in throat, are followed by globular seed capsules. Olive leaves with purple veins and sticky glands on leaf surfaces to catch insects which are digested to provide nutrients for the plant. The smallest butterwort, flower-stem only 3-10 cm tall. Found on wet heaths, sphagnum bogs and by mountain streams. Locally frequent in the west of Ireland but rare elsewhere and increasingly threatened by loss of habitat.

Pale Butterwort, Pinguicula lusitanica, Leith uisce beag