Drosera, which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surfaces. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which the plants grow. Various species, which vary greatly in size and form, are native to every continent except Antarctica.
Droseraceae is a family of carnivorous flowering plants, also known as the sundew family. It consists of approximately 180 species in three extant genera, the vast majority being in the sundew genus Drosera. The family also contains the well-known Venus flytrap and the more obscure waterwheel plant, both of which are the only living species of their respective genera. Representatives of the Droseraceae are found on all continents except Antarctica.
Drosera spatulata, the spoon-leaved sundew, is a variable, rosette-forming sundew with spoon-shaped leaves. The specific epithet is Latin for "spatula shaped," a reference to the form of the leaves. This sundew has a large range and occurs naturally throughout Southeast Asia, southern China and Japan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Variants are often known by the localities in which they are found. The plant does not form hibernacula in winter, and is easily grown using the same methods as Drosera capensis.
Drosera regia, commonly known as the king sundew, is a carnivorous plant in the sundew genus Drosera that is endemic to a single valley in South Africa. The genus name Drosera comes from the Greek word droseros, meaning "dew-covered". The specific epithet regia is derived from the Latin for "royal", a reference to the "striking appearance" of the species. Individual leaves can reach 70 cm (28 in) in length. It has many unusual relict characteristics not found in most other Drosera species, including woody rhizomes, operculate pollen, and the lack of circinate vernation in scape growth. All of these factors, combined with molecular data from phylogenetic analysis, contribute to the evidence that D. regia possesses some of the most ancient characteristics within the genus. Some of these are shared with the related Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), which suggests a close evolutionary relationship.
Drosera adelae, commonly known as the lance-leaved sundew, is a carnivorous plant in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Queensland, Australia.
Aldrovanda is a genus of carnivorous plants encompassing one extant species and numerous extinct taxa. The genus is named in honor of the Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi, the founder of the Botanical Garden of Bologna, Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna. Aldrovanda vesiculosa has been reported from scattered locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Drosera burmanni, the tropical sundew, is a small, compact species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera. Its natural geographical range includes the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Australia. It normally spans only 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter. It is one of the fastest trapping sundews as well, and its leaves can curl around an insect in only a few seconds, compared to the minutes or hours it takes other sundews to surround their prey. In nature, D. burmanni is an annual, but in cultivation, when grown indoors during the cold months, it can live for many years. Since D. burmanni is an annual, it produces large amounts of seed. Drosera burmanni has been considered a powerful rubefacient in Ayurveda.
Drosera stricticaulis, the erect sundew, is an erect perennial tuberous species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera. It is endemic to Western Australia and is found near watercourses and granite outcrops in sandy clay or loam. D. stricticaulis produces small, cup-shaped carnivorous leaves along green, glandular stems that can be 25 cm (10 in) high. Pink flowers bloom from July to October.
Drosera sect. Thelocalyx is a section of two species in the subgenus Drosera of genus Drosera.
Drosera glanduligera, commonly known as the pimpernel sundew or scarlet sundew, is a species of carnivorous plant endemic to southern Australia. It is an ephemeral annual plant that grows in the winter and flowers from August to November.
Drosera tomentosa is a species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera that is endemic to Brazil. It was originally described in 1824 by Augustin Saint-Hilaire. In 1906, Ludwig Diels reduced the species to a variety of D. montana. Diels' taxonomic rank for the species is still supported by some.
Drosera meristocaulis is a perennial species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera, the only member of the subgenus Meristocaulis. It is a small, rosette- and branched stem-forming sundew that has many morphological affinities to the Australian pygmy sundews. D. meristocaulis is wholly endemic to Pico da Neblina, an isolated mountain on the Brazil-Venezuela border.
Drosera dilatatopetiolaris is a carnivorous plant in the genus Drosera and is endemic to Australia, being found in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Its leaves are arranged in a rosette and commonly produces plantlets, eventually forming large clumps that can be over 1 ft (0.3 m) across. Green petioles emerging from the center of the rosette are typically 3–5 mm wide, but can vary. Red carnivorous leaves at the end of the petioles are small and round, with most resting on the soil surface. Inflorescences are 18 cm (7 in) long with white flowers being produced from April to May. It has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 12.
Drosera falconeri is a carnivorous plant in the family of Droseraceae. It is endemic to the Northern Territory of Australia.
Drosera viridis is a semi-erect or rosetted perennial species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera. It is known only from Brazil, being found in eastern Paraná and São Paulo and central Santa Catarina at elevations from 550–1,100 m (1,800–3,610 ft). It may, however, also be found in adjacent Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It typically grows in waterlogged habitats among grasses in white-clayey, reddish lateritic, or humus-rich black-brown soils and is sometimes found submerged with only the leaves above water.
Drosera quartzicola is a species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera and is endemic to the Serra do Cipó in central Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil. It is perennial plant that produces leaves, 0.7–4 cm (0.3–1.6 in) long, in a rosette that is sometimes on a short stem about 4 cm (1.6 in) tall. It is found growing in campo rupestre vegetation along with D. tentaculata and D. chrysolepis. It is typically found growing in silica sands surrounded by white quartz gravel, which is the origin of the specific epithet quartzicola. Drosera quartzicola grows in drier habitats than other Drosera species and flowers earlier in the wet season from January to February. It superficially resembles D. schwackei, but it is more closely related to D. camporupestris, D. graminifolia, and D. chrysolepis.
Drosera peruensis is a carnivorous plant of the genus Drosera, commonly known as the Peruvian sundew. This Drosera species was first identified in Peru in 2002 by Tânia Regina dos Santos Silva and Mireya D. Correa following work to update the genus Drosera for the reference text, Flora Neotropica..
Drosera tentaculata is a carnivorous plant native to Brazil. The species is endemic to the Brazil and occurs in "rupestre" field at the "Cadeia do Espinhaço" Highlands in the Bahia and Minas Gerais.
Drosera magnifica is a species of sundew endemic to Pico do Padre Ângelo in eastern Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, where it grows among sandstone outcrops in herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. It is one of the three largest species of Drosera – the other two being D. regia from South Africa and D. gigantea from Australia – and was discovered in 2015 through images which appeared on the social network Facebook. It is the largest New World sundew, and it is closely related to Drosera graminifolia and Drosera spiralis. According to the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, it is considered Critically Endangered. Brazil is home to some 30 species of Drosera.
Drosera admirabilis, commonly referred to as the "floating sundew", is in the carnivorous us plant family Droseraceae. The nickname "admirabilis" was first used in literature by Paul Debbert in 1987 and was derived from how "admirable" the plant appears when it reaches a fully matured specimen. Structurally similar to Drosera aliciae, and Drosera cuneifolia, the D. admirabilis grows in a single tight rosette-shaped leaf bundle. The leaves widen towards the end and have rounded tips. Leaves lay horizontally under proper lighting conditions. Like many other African sundews, D. admirabilis is a perennial. D. admirabilis has outer tentacles like those of Drosera glanduligera, Drosera sessilifolia and Drosera burmanni which briefly after stimulation bend towards the prey.
