Australian Non-Tuberous Drosera

Australian Non-Tuberous Sundews

New Zealand Temperates	North American Temperate	Pygmy	South African Temperate
South African Tropical	South American	Australian Tuberous	Australian Non-Tuberous

Growing Media:

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Water & Humidity:

Light:

Dormancy Requirements:

Asexual Reproduction:

Sexual Reproduction:

Specific Cultural Information

Note that a "" denotes a picture available at the CP Database, just click on the camera and enter "Drosera" and the species. Also check out the pictures available at the Galleria Carnivora, First floor.

D. adalae: Known as the 'Lance Leaf Sundew'. A shade loving sundew native to Australia. Leaves grow best in indirect light, and will be 4-10"(10-25.5cm)long. It will have smaller leaves under direct light, and may even die in places with high light and high temperatures. The plant itself can grow up to 10" (25.5cm) tall. It's closely related to D. prolifera and schizandra. 1-5 Red flowers appear on a short scape. Doesn't set seed easily, but can be propagated with root or leaf cuttings. With the prostrate leaf habit, I found that this plant actually forms colonies when older leaves touch the soul. This requires you to thin out plants to avoid over cropping (and expand your collection). This sundew can be grown as a Tropical, but it originates as a temperate, and may die back to the roots in extreme weather conditions. When my D. adalae died back when temperatures hit 110F, all the leaves that fell to the soil made new plants; after 3 weeks, I had over 25 new plants.
© Pierre Gelinaud

D. arcturi: The 'Arctic Sunew' is native to the alpine regions of Australia and three main islands in New Zealand. This rare plant spends its winters under snow, returning each spring from an underground bud. It blooms a single white flower per stalk, but one plant can grow up to three stalks. The leaves are thick, strap-like, and cupped. The average mature plant only has 6-10 leaves up to 4'(7cm) long. If you plan to grow this, you must provide a cold enough dormancy period. The growing season is also relatively cooler than you give most Sundews. If you wish to germinate seeds, you must stratify them and give them only 5-6 months of growing time, averaging 20C degrees.

D. banksii: An Australian sundew that doesn't form a tuber, but completely dies in the dry season and comes back from seed. It's a small erect plant that gets up to 4"(10cm) tall. Blooms white flowers. Will grow continuously if you don't allow it to dry out. Allen Lowrie wrote that it is closely related to D. subtilis, however D. banksii has pubescent flower stems and flowers have 5 petals, 5 styles. D. banksii also will continue to grow until the dry season, whereas D. subtilis will only grow through the early weeks of the wet season.

D. binata: The 'Scented Sundew' is a fantastic looking plant native to Australia and New Zealand. It will die back to the roots during cold weather under 50 F. Leaves fork into a Y shape with the sticky tentacles on the two forked parts. A mature plant can grow up to 24" (60cm). Flowers are white. This plant can be propagated by leaf cuttings. Dormancy is optional; most people grow it as a tropical. Since I grow mine in a greenhouse, they are given a temperate enviroment (which co-ordinates flowering)
Var. dichotoma is like the binata, but can have more leaf divisions. Micheal King wrote on the CP Listserv on June 30, 1999 that a bird (wren) was actually trapped in a large clump of his D. binata var dichotoma! He cut several leaves, cleaned up the bird, and let him go.
Var. multifida is my favorite; it can split up tp 6 times!

© Pierre Gelinaud
© Pierre Gelinaud
D. burmanii: Native to Australia, but found in New Zealand and Asia. An small rosetted annual Sundew with oval-shaped leaves. The plant produces 1-5 flower stalks and 3-15 white flowers; it easily self-pollinates and germinates, so it shouldn't be much trouble for a collector to maintain a supply of them. Leaves can reach 1" (3cm) in diameter and spathulate. It will not produce plantlets from leaf cuttings easily, so it may be best to obtain by seeds.

D. hamiltonii: A Tropical Australian sundew that can be grow year-round. Prefers moist soils, and is a good beginner plant.

D. indica

D. lanata: A tropical or temperate plant that forms a basal rosette with many leaves with narrow hairy petioles and circular leaf glands on the ends. It's difficult to misidentify this plant -- The hairs that are on the petioles are white, which makes these plants look as if they are frosted. If it gets too dry during the growing season, this plant has white 'hairs' that protect the young leaves in the base of the rosette. The flower stalk is also covered in white hairs, and bears up to 30 white flowers. With all these hairs, it can live in hot and drier environments than other Drosera tolerates. Closely related to the D. petiolaris complex. Can be confused with D. ordensis, which also has white hairs that stand out. However, the petioles on D. ordensis are much wider and flater.

D. ordensis: A temperate sundew (than can be grown as a tropical) that grows many leaves with dense white wooly hairs (much like D. lanata). However, this plant gets more robust. If the growing season gets dry, it halts leaf growth, and the hairs keep the younger leaves safe. A single flower scape can have up to 30 pink or white flowers. The petioles of the plant are flatter and wider than those of D. lanata. Allen Lowrie wrote that the hairs on this and D. lanata help capture morning dew. The morning dew collects on the hairs, ultimately falling to the soil to water the plants.


D. petiolaris: Beautiful temperate or tropical sundew with a heavy red color in the petioles, leaves, and scapes. Has a very open loose rosette with skinny-petioled leaves. Grows 1 or 2 scapes with several pink to white blooms. Doesn't easily set seed. When it gets too dry, the plant will die back to the roots.

D. prolifera: An Australian Tropical plant that grows best in indirect light. Short and stocky plant with small petioles, and a heart shaped leaf at the end. Very nice sundew with a very 'fertile' habit. Every flowering scape produces a new plant, and this sundew blooms all year long. If that's not enough for you, it also spreads by runners. Produces flower stalks throughout the growing season, with several red flowers on each scape.

© Joe Harden
© Joe Harden

D. schizandra: The 'Notched Sundew' is an Australian Tropical sundew for indirect light. Sundew with 2-6 white, dark red, or reddish purple flowers. The plant itself is a basal rosette with paddle shaped leaves up to 5" long (13cm) and 2.5" wide (6.5 cm) It's known as the 'Notched Sundew' due to the notch at the tip in the older mature leaves. Doesn't set seed easily. Easily propagated from leaf cuttings.

D. spathulata: The 'Spoon-Shaped Sundew' is found throughout New Zealand and in parts of Australia and Asia. It is common in the alpine regions. It's leaves grow up to 2" (5cm) in diameter. A single plant can have multiple flowers on one or two stalks. Easy to grow, and a self-pollinator. A pink or white bloomer.
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D. subtilis: Small erect growing sundew reaching up to 20cm. Allen Lowrie wrote that it is closely related to D. banksii ; D. banksii will continue to grow until the dry season, whereas D. subtilis will only grow through the early weeks of the wet season. Small flower stems from the top of the plant can produce over 50 white flowers!

Bibliography

Carnivorous Plants of Australian, Volume 1,2,3. Allen Lowrie
The Savage Garden, Peter D'Amato. 1998.
Carnivorous Plants of the World, James and Patricia Pietropaolo. 1986
A Brief Guide to Native New Zealand Carnivorous Plants, Http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~elderj/nzcps.html
Carnivorous Plant Database
Cambrian Carnivores

Photo Contributors

Pierre Gelinaud -Webpage-: D. adalea, D. binata, spathulata
Joachin Merz & Heiko Rischer -Webpage- :D. spathulata
Yutaka Yoshida - Webpage - : D. spathulata

Last update 07/30/01
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