Mexican Pinguicula Species Guide

One of the easiest Mexican butterworts and a common first plant. Casper first described it as having no winter form, but in cultivation it makes a mild winter rosette of hairy, non-sticky leaves that root readily as leaf pullings.

Flower colour varies by clone. The 'El Lobo' form from Querétaro has pure white flowers, and some clones are scented. A 2025 study by Fleck and colleagues found weak CAM photosynthesis in P. agnata, part of the first report of CAM in any carnivorous plant. It is a parent of 'Johanna', 'Aphrodite' and 'Pirouette'.

Recognized by the violet tint on its outer summer leaves and by deep violet flowers with nearly circular lobes, which is where the name comes from. It grows on sheer limestone in the wild but does not need an alkaline mix in cultivation.

Winter, once the succulent rosette has formed, is the best time to repot and to take leaf pullings.

One of the smallest Mexican species, so it fits a windowsill, a terrarium or a crowded grow shelf. It is strongly heterophyllous and propagates easily from detached winter leaves.

Seed is rarely produced, possibly because two different clones are needed for pollination. It is a parent of the popular hybrid 'Johanna'.

A small species and one of the most widely grown, because its winter leaves root very easily. Unusually, it flowers only from the winter rosette, between January and March, so a plant that looks dormant may still bloom.

Keep it on the dry side from November to April. It is a parent of 'Weser' and a grandparent of 'Pirouette'.

Named for Elizabeth Argüelles. Its winter rosette is one of the most striking in the group: a tight bulb of 60 or more small leaves, each fringed with hairs 5 to 10 mm long.

Use an airy, fast-draining mix and water only rarely from October to April.

Named for the notched (emarginate) tips of its petals, the trait that sets its flowers apart. It is homophyllous: it keeps the same sticky leaves all year and does not need a dry winter rest, so it suits a humid terrarium.

Keep the mix just barely moist and propagate from leaf cuttings. It is a parent of the agnata × emarginata clone sold as 'Sakurahime'.

A small species with very variable flower colour. Like P. ehlersiae, which it closely resembles, it flowers from the winter rosette in midwinter.

Its home range has been confused since it was described: plants were distributed under a San Luis Potosí locality, while later authors trace the original material to Tamaulipas. Keep it dry to barely moist from November to April.

The largest Mexican butterwort. Both sides of its leaves carry sticky glands, which is rare in the genus, and it has no distinct winter rosette. The International Carnivorous Plant Society calls it a good windowsill plant.

Older plants are sometimes still sold under the name 'Ayautla'. It is a parent of P. gigantea × moctezumae.

Its long, narrow summer leaves make it easy to tell apart from the broad-leaved species. Despite the name (gypsum-loving), it does not need gypsum in cultivation.

It is fussier about water than most: avoid a soggy mix even in summer, and keep it dry over winter. Well-grown plants can send up as many as 10 flower stalks in a season.

Known for its red flowers, which are very rare in Pinguicula; nearly all species flower in white, pink or violet. Wild flower colour ranges from scarlet and crimson to orange-tinged and violet.

Keep it dry in winter and never waterlogged. The name was first published in 1989 but only validly published in 2018, so you will see both years.

Found in a single canyon, on seeping limestone so wet that its authors described it as almost subaquatic. Its long, upright leaves set it apart from every other Mexican species.

It can be kept moist all year and suits a terrarium. Seed needs hand pollination. It is a parent of 'Aphrodite' and P. gigantea × moctezumae.

The most widespread Mexican butterwort and one of the most commonly grown, available in many forms with different flower colours. Two varieties are accepted: var. moranensis on limestone and var. neovolcanica on volcanic rock in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

Its winter rosette is a dense mass that looks like a houseleek (Sempervivum), and it can flower from both its summer and winter rosettes. It is a parent of 'Weser' and a grandparent of 'Pirouette'.

A registered cultivar that turns from soft green to cherry-pink in strong light and blooms freely. It combines the vigour of P. agnata with the colour of P. debbertiana, and it is one of our most reliable plants for beginners.

One of the oldest Mexican hybrids in cultivation and still one of the most dependable: vigorous, generous with mucilage and quick to flower. 'Sethos' is a sister cultivar with the same parents and breeder.

Gets its long, strap-like leaves from P. moctezumae and its easy nature from P. agnata. It grows into one of the largest plants on a windowsill and flowers almost constantly.

Named for its neat, pinwheel-shaped rosette. Kept warm it can grow all year without a resting phase, and it is one of the easiest butterworts to propagate from leaf pullings.

'Sakurahime' (Japanese for cherry blossom princess) is a trade name for one Japanese clone of this cross, not a registered cultivar name. The leaves blush strongly pink in bright light, and the veined flowers are smaller and finer than those of P. agnata.

Combines the size of P. gigantea with the long leaves and steady flowering of P. moctezumae. Like both parents it has no tight winter rosette, only slower growth in the cool months. Not to be confused with 'Down Under', which is P. emarginata × moctezumae.