Butterworts grow in bogs, moors and other wet habitats where the soil is of very poor nutritional quality. To obtain nutrients (in particular nitrogen), the plant is insectivorous: insects are caught and digested by a sticky secretion on their leaves. The Common Butterwort has a purple flower; a less common variety is the Pale Butterwort which is smaller and has a lilac flower.

Butterwort flower		Side-on view showing back-pointing spur and glands on stems and calyx