Carnivorous Plant Seeds - Drosera ordensis - Australian Insectivorous Sundew

Drosera ordensis Seeds

Carnivorous Sundew

Sundews leaves are usually flat with hundreds of tentacles which hold a gland that produces the dew. The dew is very thick and sticky. When an insect gets stuck to some dew, more tentacles move in to get their dew covered glands against the insect to keep it from escaping. The glands on top of the tentacles then secrete acids and enzymes which dissolve the insect. The glands then re-absorb the nutrient rich fluid. Drosera ordensis is a species of sundew, native to Australia and part of the "petiolaris complex" of sundews making up the subgenus Lasiocephala. Compared to many petiolaris sundews, it has wide petioles, which are densely covered in silvery hairs. It usually forms rosettes 8 cm across, although plants up to 20 cm in diameter have been reported. Fun & educational!