Round-leaved sundew

The dew that traps

The round-leaved sundew is a small carnivorous plant that forms a rosette of rounded leaves pressed to the ground. Each leaf is covered in slender red tentacles, every one tipped with a droplet of sticky mucilage that glistens in the sun like a bead of dew — hence the name 'sundew'. From this rosette a slender stalk rises in summer bearing small white flowers.

Habitat and distribution

It is one of the most widespread sundews in the world, with a circumboreal distribution: it lives across much of Europe, Siberia and North America, as far as Korea, Japan and New Guinea. It grows in acidic bogs, marshes and sphagnum mats, nutrient-poor habitats where catching insects makes up for the scarcity of nitrogen.

How it catches prey

The sticky droplets attract insects, which become stuck. The leaf then reacts: the tentacles slowly bend towards the prey and, in the more mobile leaves, the whole blade curls to enfold it, while glands secrete enzymes that digest it. Within a few days only the insect's chitinous shell remains.

Cultivation and protection

In cultivation it needs full sun, an acidic peat-and-sphagnum substrate kept always soaked, mineral-free water and a cold winter rest, during which it withdraws into a compact bud. In the wild it is a protected species in many European countries: collection is banned.

Conservation

The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern globally, but many local populations are declining due to the drainage of bogs. Protecting these habitats is essential to its survival.