Phil Bendle Collection:Drosera spathulata (Spoon-leaved Sundew)

(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Droseraceae
Genus: Drosera 
Species: Drosera spathulata
Common name: Spoon-leaved Sundew, Rosy sundew, Spoon leaf sundew.

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 south-east Asia, in southern China and Japan, Micronesia, New Guinea through to the eastern territories of Australia and Tasmania and New Zealand. Variants are often known by the localities in which they are found. The plant does not form hibernacula in winter.

Drosera spatulata is a variable perennial plant that produces small rosettes of numerous spathulate leaves. This species is widely variable, but generally, plants are about 4 cm in diameter. Each leaf is attached to the central rosette by a narrow 8 mm long petiole that is only glandular on the upper half. Individual leaf laminae are typically 5 mm long and 4 mm wide. In early summer, plants will produce 8 cm tall erect scapes with around six small white flowers on each one-sided racemose inflorescence. Each flower can be up to 6 mm across. Sundews are one of the plants that can live in an acidic environment.

Click photos to enlarge

Photo showing the droplets on the tips. These are sweet but very sticky and small insects are attracted to and are trapped by them.

The two photos below show the tall tall erect scapes on which the flowers develop.  These flowers are raised well above the plant so the pollinating insects are not trapped.

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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