Left: Red ink sundew Right: a pygmy sundew Pygmy sundews are little insect-eating plants, which with one exception only occur in Western Australia, and all except one are perennials.
As their name suggests they are tiny, but have some interesting adaptations to enable them to survive our dry summers.
As their name suggests they are tiny, but have some interesting adaptations to enable them to survive our dry summers.
- They do not have underground storage parts, but have fibrous roots that can be as long as 30cms.
- Many are capable of hibernating.
- Some have silvery stipule bud coverings in summer, which form a protective silver cone over the growing point.
- Some retain dead leaves as insulation.
- Some species have microstilt roots to elevate them above the hot soil surface.
Gemmae encased in white stipules Perennials are 'explosive plants', which disperse tiny vegetative clones called gemmae.
Gemmae are produced early in the season after leaves have formed
Gemmae are modified leaves which detach, root, and form new plants. They are produced from the rosette center, and look like a bundle of little grapes or flat scales. They become so densely packed that the old leaf stipules are pushed away from the rosette centre. This acts like the cocking of a trigger---when a single raindrop strikes the mass of gemmae, the disturbance makes the stipules flex back to their normal positions in an explosive burst, thus shooting the gemmae as far as a few meters!
They can rapidly populate bare areas of soil when the surface is wet. and are usually found as clusters
Gemmae are produced early in the season after leaves have formed
Gemmae are modified leaves which detach, root, and form new plants. They are produced from the rosette center, and look like a bundle of little grapes or flat scales. They become so densely packed that the old leaf stipules are pushed away from the rosette centre. This acts like the cocking of a trigger---when a single raindrop strikes the mass of gemmae, the disturbance makes the stipules flex back to their normal positions in an explosive burst, thus shooting the gemmae as far as a few meters!
They can rapidly populate bare areas of soil when the surface is wet. and are usually found as clusters
Drosera androsaceae (Cone Sundew) occurs in wetter bare spots on the clay flat north-east of the Claypit.
These are amazingly tough plants as this area is wet when it rains, but dry and hard for much of the year. As their name suggests they form a silvery stipule cone in summer.
These are amazingly tough plants as this area is wet when it rains, but dry and hard for much of the year. As their name suggests they form a silvery stipule cone in summer.
 Cone sundews on claypit flays |  Sticky Cone sundew tendrils trap and dissolve insects |
Drosera scorpioides (Shaggy Sundew) can be found on sandy gravel soils underneath the jarrah trees near the water tank. The shaggy description is apt because they live for over a decade and develop a shaggy coat of dead tendril leaves as they grow up through the leaf litter. This and aerial micro stilt roots that elevate the plant above the soil surface make them admirably adapted to dry gravelly soils
 Shaggy sundew leaves drooping due to dry weather |  “Old man shaggy” double header 6cm high |
Pygmy sundews obtain up to half of their nitrogen requirement from their prey. Lots of the plants had many tendrils curled, or slowly curling around captured ants
 Tendrils starting to close |  Trapped |
Perennial sundews produce flowers, but most fail to produce viable seed.
 Flowering cone sundew |  Flowering Shaggy sundew |
Drosera leucoblasta (Wheel sundew) is a stunning pygmy sundew that I found at Wedin Reserve. It has glowing orange flowers on long petioles, that like orange veined balls when they are about to open
Drosera glanduligera (Pimpernel sundew) is the only annual sundew. It only occurs on one small spot near the Granite Walk but is fairly common on shallow moist soils on and around granite rocks.
It is explosive in another way! Its tendrils close so quickly that it might just be the fastest moving plant in the world. (check out the video on the hyperlink)
Tendrils move faster than the eye can see: a couple of hundredths of a second. "And an ant or prey will walk on that gland and the gland will actually flick it into the centre of the leaf. There is no escape."
Amazing for a plant that is no more than 6cm tall. Minute, deadly and beautiful
It is explosive in another way! Its tendrils close so quickly that it might just be the fastest moving plant in the world. (check out the video on the hyperlink)
Tendrils move faster than the eye can see: a couple of hundredths of a second. "And an ant or prey will walk on that gland and the gland will actually flick it into the centre of the leaf. There is no escape."
Amazing for a plant that is no more than 6cm tall. Minute, deadly and beautiful
 Pimpernel sundew |  |