Pinguicula cyclosecta is a butterwort native to Mexico, growing in the Sierra Madre Oriental in a small area between Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. Plants can be found in crevices of vertical limestone cliffs where they grow in a soil rich in organic mass. In summer the soil is wet from water running down the cliffs, in winter the soil is almost dry. Therefore P. cyclosecta forms carnivorous leaves during summer months and in winter the rosette consists of more than 50 non-carnivorous leaves. This means that this species belongs to the tropical-heterophyllous growth type. A typical feature for P. cyclosecta is the violet pigmentation of the margin of the summer leaves. The summer rosette can achieve in cultivation a size of 6 cm, while the winter rosette often is only half in size.
The flowers of P. cyclosecta are among the most beautiful in the genus Pinguicula. The colour is dark violet, often showing a violet veination. The size of the flowers can be upt to 3 cm in diameter. The corolla is bilabiate, the tubus is very short and the spur can be up to 2,5 cm. This caracters are typical for the section Orcheosanthus, where also P. moranensis belongs to. The flowers appear out of the summer rosette. 1 to 3 flower scapes can be formed.
The plants can be cultivated in a mixture of peat and a calcerous soil (dolomite), but a mix of peat and fine quartz sand shows also good results. Propagation can easily be obtained by leaf cuttings taken from the winter rosette.
Pinguicula cyclosecta Casper (1962)