Tall Sundew – Drosera peltata
Tall Sundew - Drosera peltata in bushland garden.
The sundews are such a beautiful and delicate little wildflower that we regularly see on our bush block. These indigenous plants grow to a maximum of 80cm they are generally visible through winter, spring and into summer and mostly disappear through the autumn as part of their annual lifecycle. They really thrived and were found in abundance after the bushfire, flowering the first spring, less than 6 months after the fire event.
They are so interesting as the sundews are carnivorous plants. They can catch small insects using their sticky leaves. The leaves are known as “lamina” due their different appearance looking like sticky tentacles which secrete a tempting sweet, but adhesive nectar to attract the insects. Once the lamina catch an insect the struggle triggers the lamina to wrap up and secrete enzymes to digest the prey.
Tall Sundew lamina. LHS trapping insect. RHS digesting insect.
When we first arrived on our bushblock and had some really threatening weeds particularly the weedy grasses these sundews were in the process of being squashed out of existence. Our heavy weed removal allowed these plants some clear space to return to their natural glory by removing the competition for light and space from the weedy grasses. They have sinced thrived and provide us with much joy when they return each year.
Tall Sundew - Drosera peltata flower.
The sundews are quite delicate and the beautiful flowers and shining lamina are really tempting for macro photography. But these plants can’t take heavy trampling so need to have some free undisturbed space to allow them to thrive. We generally only walk on set tracks through our bushland area only walking out to clear weeds, take photographs or look for new and exciting plant species that we haven’t found before.
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