Species
Drosera capensis
Etymology
Drosera: dewy
Common Name(s)
Cape sundew
Authority
Drosera capensis L.
Family
Droseraceae
Brief Description
Low growing herb with distinctive strap-like leaves with sticky red hairs, each growing from a central axis (like a dandelion), with tall flower stems (up to 30 cm tall) with a number of bright pink flowers arranged at the tip of the flower stalk, the oldest flowers near the base.
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites
Distribution
Only known from two sites in Waitakere District, Auckland.
Habitat
Dune slack wetlands.
Features
Rosette-forming perennial herb. Leaves bright green, petiolate with a linear ligulate lamina, 8-16 cm x 4-6 mm. Lamina clad in red stalked glandular hairs secreting a sticky mucilage to trap insects and other small invertebrates. Peduncles several per plant, up to 30 cm long, glandular hairy, inflorescence a cyme of many (6-30) rose-pink regular 5-petalled flowers 12-14 mm across. Fruit a capsule, with each scape capable of producing 1000-2000 seeds.
Similar Taxa
Superficially similar to the native sundews, with Drosera arcturi (a montane to subalpine bog species) also having strap-like leaves although these are usually reddish rather than green, with wider petioles with sheathing bases.
Flowering
Late spring to summer
Flower Colours
Red / Pink,White
Fruiting
Summer to autumn
Year Naturalised
2001
Origin
South Africa
Reason for Introduction
Ornamental plant
Control Techniques
Notify regional council if found.
Life Cycle and Dispersal
Deliberate planting, with subsequent seed dispersal by animals or water.
This page last updated on 13 Nov 2013