Drosera heterophylla Species Profile

Drosera heterophylla Species Profile

Drosera heterophylla is an erect tuberous species endemic to Western Australia. It is known for its unusual flowers, which have many more petals than the usual five.

Drosera heterophylla is a medium sized sundew with erect stems that grow to around 20-30cm tall. The stems are glabrous. The leaves are reniform in shape. There are non-carnivorous prophylls (bracts) at the base of the stem. The flowers are white with a variably amount of petals, typically around 8-12.

The species is associated with winter-waterlogged niches such as swamps, subterranean creeklines and the drainage channels of granite outcrops. It is distributed in the Swan Coastal Plain and adjacent hills, extending north towards the Wongan Hills and the sand plains north of Perth. The species is similar to D. marchantii and D. prophylla in that it has non-carnivorous prophylls but is distinguished by its reniform laminae (those of D. marchantii and D. prophylla are orbicular). The many petalled white flowers distinguishes it from all other sundews.

The flower of Drosera heterophylla. Note the many petals.
Habitat of Drosera heterophylla in the Perth Hills. Plants usually grow aside small streams atop granite.
A field of Drosera heterophylla atop a granite outcrop that is covered with a thin layer of water.
Drosera heterophylla at the edge of a swamp channel near Mt Lesueur. The dew of the species is particularly refractive, earning its vernacular name the ‘swamp rainbow’. The plant forms particularly large berries.
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