Utricularia tubulata is a floating aquatic bladderwort native to Northern Australia. The species is name for the buoyant, tubular flower stalks on which the blooms are produced.

Utricularia tubulata is a medium sized floating aquatic plant, with a stem that is typically around 30cm in length (although the length can vary considerably as for most aquatic plants). The stem produces threadlike stolons which radiate from regularly spaced whorls along the stem. These stolons are sparsely branching to unbranched. Traps are produced along long stolons with the tip of the trap having three-pronged projections. The flower stem is fleshy and expanded, and is raised above the surface of the water. Flowers are about 2-3 cm in diameter, with a flaring skirt-like lower corolla lip and a large upper corolla lip that is slightly notched at the edge. The flower is coloured powder blueish-purple with a white to slightly yellow center. The nectary spur is long and curves towards the front.

The species grows in seasonal ponds and smaller lakes where it accumulates in the shallow edges. Flowering occurs in the later parts of the wet season, continuing until the water recedes and the plants dessicate. The plant is distributed broadly across the monsoon-influenced northern parts of Australia with records from Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.

The pale purple blooms of Utricularia tubulata are unlikely to be confused with any other floating bladderwort, which are typically yellow coloured in Australia. When not blooming, it’s foliage can be identified by its whorled, sparsely branching stolons and traps with a three-pronged projection. Other floating bladderworts typically have either much more branched stolons which give off a leafy appearance, or have stems which do not have whorls of stolons.