What is the common name for the carnivorous plant genus Pinguicula?

The common name for the carnivorous plant genus Pinguicula is butterworts.

Pinguicula species are small flowering plants known for their smooth, often glossy leaves coated with sticky mucilage. Insects that land on the leaf surface become trapped by stalked glands. Other glands then release digestive enzymes, allowing the plant to absorb nutrients from the prey. This adaptation is especially useful in the nutrient-poor soils, bogs, rock faces, and mountain habitats where butterworts grow.

The name butterwort reflects the leaves’ greasy or buttery appearance. The genus name Pinguicula comes from the Latin pinguis, meaning “fat,” a reference to the plant’s fleshy, glistening foliage. The genus is part of Lentibulariaceae, the bladderwort family, which also includes Genlisea and Utricularia.

Butterworts are often confused with sundews because both use sticky leaves, but their traps are built differently: sundews have conspicuous tentacles, while Pinguicula leaves usually appear smooth. They are also not pitcher plants, whose prey-catching structures are liquid-filled chambers. Some butterworts change leaf form seasonally, producing compact, non-carnivorous resting rosettes during unfavorable conditions.