round-leaved sundew

Drosera rotundifolia

The round-leaved sundew is a special plant that catches tiny bugs with its sticky leaves! It looks like it has little drops of dew on it, which helps it trap its food.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The round-leaved sundew has a flat rosette of small, reddish-green, spoon-shaped leaves. Each leaf is covered with sparkling, sticky red tentacles that trap small insects. Tiny white flowers grow on a slender stalk above the leaves.

KingdomPlantaePhylumTracheophytaClassMagnoliopsidaOrderCaryophyllalesFamilyDroseraceaeGenusDrosera

round-leaved sundew

Interesting facts

It moves super slowly! A leaf can take hours to wrap around a captured insect.

Its sparkling 'dew' is actually a super sticky glue, not water!

The round-leaved sundew can be found all over the world, even in frosty places!

This tiny plant can live for many years, even decades, in the right wet spots.

Special abilities

round-leaved sundew can catch tiny insects using incredibly sticky, dew-like drops on its tentacles to get extra nutrients.

round-leaved sundew has special digestive enzymes that break down trapped insects, helping it thrive in poor soil.

round-leaved sundew has glistening, sugary droplets that look like irresistible nectar, luring unsuspecting prey closer.

round-leaved sundew can slowly curl its leaves around struggling prey, creating a tighter grip and better digestion.

Measurements & details

Height: 2-10 cm
Spread: 2-8 cm
Flower Size: 0.5-1 cm
Bloom Season: Summer
Edible: No
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial
Pollination Method: Insect

Ecological connections

eaten by

fruit fly

Drosophila melanogaster

A common insect prey trapped by its sticky leaves.

eaten by

common house mosquito

Culex pipiens

Often falls victim to the sundew's deceptive, glistening tentacles.

pollinates

buff-tailed bumblebee

Bombus terrestris

Visits its small white flowers to collect nectar and pollen.

eaten by

European fire ant

Myrmica rubra

Occasionally trapped and digested by the sundew's sticky glands.

Traits

Flowering

Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.

Insectivorous

This trait identifies organisms whose diet primarily consists of insects and other small invertebrates.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Carnivorous Plant

Carnivorous plants are predatory flowering plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.