Round-leaved sundew Drosera rotundifolia

Round-leaved sundew

The round-leaved sundew is a very small plant, quite unassuming and… “carnivorous”! The sundew grows in the wetlands, peat bogs, marshes and lakes of the northern part of the North American continent. The stem of the flower measures only about 10 cm (4 in.) and it has small leaves that form a rosette at the foot of the plant.

This plant meets its calorific needs by eating insects that it attracts and catches with its leaves, which are covered with a hair-like structure. These “hairs” are in fact glands. The longest ones, around the leaf, catch the insects with their sticky nectar, while the shorter ones in the centre create an enzyme used to digest their preys.