Indian Sundew

Herbs annual, with fibrous roots. Stem unbranched, erect or procumbent, 2-50 cm, not forming tubers below ground, pubescent with short, glandular hairs. Leaves cauline, alternate, sparse; stipule absent or reduced and hairlike; petiole 5-10 mm, flattened or narrowed, glabrous; leaf blade simple, light green or red, narrowly linear, 2-12 cm × 1-3 mm, pubescent or glabrous, apex acute. Inflorescence axillary or leaf opposed, 6-50 cm, glandular; raceme 1-30-flowered; peduncle to 12 cm; bracts linear, 6-8 mm; pedicels 0.6-1.5 cm. Sepals 5, united near base, yellowish green, lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 3-5 × 1-2 mm, glandular, margin entire. Petals white, light red, orange, or reddish violet, obovate to oblanceolate, 5-10 × 3-4 mm, veined. Stamens 5, 3-5 mm, papillose. Ovary terete, obovate, or subglobose, 1-2 mm; placentas 3; styles 3, deeply 2-parted nearly to base, usually incurved; stigma simple, 2-3 mm. Capsule globose-obovoid, 3-valved, 4-6 mm. Seeds black, small; venation thick and scrobiculate. Fl. and fr. all year. 2n = 28*.

Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan [Africa, E and SE Asia, Australia].

Wet places, soggy soils; sea level to 600 m.

Drosera makinoi Masamune.

indica: of India

Annual insectivorous herb. Stem up to 50 cm long. Leaves alternate along the stem, linear, 1-10 cm long, covered in long sticky glands to trap insects. Flowers in 3-20-flowered lateral heads, pink to purple.

From Senegal to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Also in Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Indo-China, China, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.

A damselfly is seen captured by a Drosera indica plant at Madayipara

Drosera indica is an insectivorous plant, a sundew native to tropical countries throughout the world, from Asia to Africa, but absent from the neotropics. Together with Australian endemic species D. aquatica, D. aurantiaca, D. barrettorum, D. cucullata, D. finlaysoniana, D. fragrans, D. glabriscapa, D. hartmeyerorum, D. nana, D. serpens it makes up the section Arachnopus.