Pale Sundew – Another Sundew
Drosera peltata
“stalked semicircular leaves on a slim stem to about 20cm high” - NPOS p. 163
Funny how you can pass something a hundred times and never notice it. A few of these pale sundews were growing in exactly the same spot as a bunch of common sundews I’d known about and been passing for months.
Just like the common sundew the pale sundew grows on damp clay or sandy soil and makes up for poor nutrients by capturing small insects with sticky fluid excreted from it’s leaves.
You can see by the 10c coin that they are small, and there’s not much bulk to them so easy to miss I suppose.
Common Sundew
Drosera spatulata
“A small rosette herb, about 30mm wide.” NPOS p.164
The Common Sundew is a small ground herb, it has remarkable leaves that are covered in coarse red hairs and tipped with a clear sticky fluid. When small insects get stuck the leaves roll up and the insect in consumed. In this way the Sundew is able to supplement it’s diet by providing nitrogen that is lacking in sandy soils.
The Sundew is a small plant and easy to miss unless you are really looking. They are not rare but I’ve only found them growing in a few areas on sandy / clayey soil that is wet year round.
