It’s cold, foggy and grey here this morning. To warm myself up, I’m going to tell you about Sundews.

If you’re Australian, you probably know this beautiful little jewel of the bush that sparkles in the sunlight and produces exquisite flowers in Spring.

We came across a few patches of it them last week, while walking through bush not far from here. They were growing in places that were still moist after rain and, true to form, they glistened in the late afternoon sun.

I think these are Drosera Whittakeri (Drosera means ‘dewy’), although I’m open to correction on that.

Fifty-six of the world’s 90 Sundews are found in Australia. The early settlers extracted dye from the tissues of the Drosera and used it as ink. How they deduced that the plant could produce an ink substitute is a mystery.

This type of Sundew grows from tubers, as do many others, but there are some that grow from seed. The tuberous Sundews need little moisture to survive Summer, and in Winter, their growing time, they only need enough rain to keep them barely moist.

This plant’s delicate looks belie its tough nature.

The upper surface of the Sundew’s leaves are covered with fine hairy tentacles and tipped with sticky glands. If an insect touches even one tentacle, it becomes glued to it.

Darwin studied these plants. He found that brushing them with even the smallest fragment of hair evoked a response.

The tentacle holding the insect bends towards the centre of the plant and stimulates the other tentacles to do likewise. After a few hours they’re all tightly curled around the victim.

Each tentacle secretes a digestive juice from a gland at its tip and this reduces the prey’s body to a fluid that’s then absorbed by the plant. After feeding, the plant resumes its normal position to await its next meal.

If you’d like to know more about these fascinating plants, you might enjoy browsing the website of the Victorian Carnivorous Plant Society. Or you could just go for a wander through the bush and keep an eye out for them.

References: A Field Guide to Native Plants of Australia by Margaret G. Corrick and Bruce A. Fuhrer, and Wildflowers of Victoria, Murdoch Books.