Threadleaf Sundew Drosera filiformis

Sundew is a carnivorous plant that is capable of photosynthesis but acquires most of its nutrients through the digestion of insects. It has lavender-rose flowers on a leafless stalk rising from erect, thread-like, sticky, basal leaves that unroll in spirals. It is easy to cultivate and will form clumps which can be divided while dormant.

This striking member of the sundew family is distinctive, with its stringy leaves covered with glistening droplets of sticky exudate. Insects trapped in the sticky hairs are digested by plant enzymes. Southern plants are larger than the northern ones and the Florida Sundew has red stems. Varieties grow from Canada to Florida but Sundew is losing its habitat and becoming rare.

Plant in full sun with a planting mix of whole fiber sphagnum moss or a mix of equal parts peat moss and coarse vermiculite or sharp sand. They require constant moisture and some require winter dormancy for longevity. It can be grown in bog gardens or containers.

Habitat: Margins of natural pools in pinelands, especially clay-based Carolina bays