Drosera (Sundew)

About Sundew plants

Drosera is a carnivorous plant equipped with adhesive traps and belonging, like Dionaea muscipula, to the family Droseraceae. The numerous species of Drosera are mostly found in tropical or subtropical environments such as Africa, Australia, and South America, though they can also be found in temperate environments such as Europe, Asia, and North America in much smaller numbers.

The fascinating capture mechanism has the appearance of leaves covered with numerous “tentacles,” at the top of which are sticky droplets composed of water and polysaccharides. These plants take advantage of the light reflections produced by the passage of sunlight through these droplets to attract the insects, which eventually become trapped in this thick, viscous cocktail of water and sugary substances. Other glands, called sessile glands, which are smaller and less conspicuous than the previous ones, produce digestive enzymes that “digest” the insect’s soft tissues.

Often, to maximize the benefits it can derive from its prey, Drosera slowly curls the leaves by enveloping the insect with a larger surface area of leaf blade (and thus more digestive glands); in this way, there is more production of enzymes, and consequently more nutrition. This can take the plant hours or days to do, depending on the species.

Read more in our Drosera care guide here