page_title: Pinguicula
section_title: Distribution
hierarchical_section_title: Pinguicula / Distribution
context_page_description: Pinguicula, commonly known as the butterworts, is a genus of carnivorous flowering plants in the family Lentibulariaceae. They use sticky, glandular leaves to lure, trap, and digest insects in order to supplement the poor mineral nutrition they obtain from the environment. Of the roughly 80 currently known species, 13 are native to Europe, 9 to North America, and some to northern Asia. The largest number of species is in South and Central America.
context_section_description: Butterworts are distributed throughout the northern hemisphere (map). The greatest concentration of species, however, is in humid mountainous regions of Central America (including Mexico) and South America, where populations can be found as far south as Tierra del Fuego. Australia is the only continent without any native butterworts.
  Butterworts probably originated in Central America, as this is the center of Pinguicula diversity – roughly 50% of butterwort species are found here.
  The great majority of individual Pinguicula species have a very limited distribution. The two butterwort species with the widest distribution - P. alpina and P. vulgaris - are found throughout much of Europe and North America. Other species found in North America include P. caerulea, P. ionantha, P. lutea, P. macroceras, P. planifolia, P. primuliflora, P. pumila, and P. villosa.
caption: Pinguicula distribution