DROSERACEAE

SUNDEW FAMILY

William J. Stone

Annual, perennial herb, subshrub, carnivorous; roots weak
Leaves generally basal rosette, often coiled in bud; blade with insect-catching hairs on upper surface, hairs either gland-tipped and sticky or sensitive bristles
Inflorescence: cyme or raceme-like; flowers 1–few, on long peduncle
Flower bisexual, radial; calyx lobes generally 5; petals generally 5, free or slightly fused; stamens 4–20; pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, placentas generally 3(5), parietal, style branches generally 3(5), each generally 2-lobed
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal; valves generally 3(5)
Seeds generally many, spindle-shaped
Genera in family: 4 genera (3 with 1 sp. each), 100 species: temp, tropical, especially Australia, New Zealand, especially in bogs, swamps; some cultivated as novelties (Dionaea, Venus' fly-trap, of se US)
Etymology: (Greek: dewy)

DROSERA

SUNDEW

Annual, perennial herb, often brownish or reddish
Leaf: petiole long; blade hairs on upper surface stalked, gland-tipped (glands secrete sticky, insect-trapping fluid, leaf folds around prey, which is digested by enzymes, ribonucleases, and bacteria)
Inflorescence: raceme-like cyme
Flower: sepals, petals, stamens generally 5; main style branches, placentas, valves generally 3
Species in genus: 100 species: range of family. D. filiformis Raf. and D. linearis Goldie were planted in NCo (Mendocino Co.) and may persist.

Native

D. anglica Huds.

ENGLISH LONG-LEAVED SUNDEW

Leaf: blade 15–35 mm, 2–7 mm wide
Inflorescence: peduncle generally 1, 6–18 cm
Flower: calyx 4–6 mm, fused ± 1/3 length; petals 8–12 mm, white; stamens < petals; style branches 2-lobed for 2/3 length
Seed 1–1.5 mm, ± ovoid, black
Chromosomes: 2n=40
Ecology: Swamps, bogs
Elevation: 1300–2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: Scattered in Klamath Ranges, High Cascade Range, n High Sierra Nevada (n of Lake Tahoe), s Warner Mountains
Distribution outside California: circumboreal
Synonyms: D. longifolia L
Sterile hybrids with D. rotundifolia may be called D. X obovata Mert. & Koch
Horticultural information: In cultivation.