Bladderworts grow in moorland pools, which are highly acidic and short in nutrients. To obtain sufficient nutrients (in particular nitrogen), the plant is insectivorous, catching and digesting insects. It consists of a submerged mass of branching stems which bear many minute bladders; these suck in small insects using a very fast vacuum mechanism. The Common Bladderwort has a yellow flower similar to the Lesser Bladderwort, but rarely flowers.