Sundew Gemmae

Drosera pycnoblasta with gemmae, on my windowsill in Hayes. 9 December 2011.

Sundews are a group of carnivorous plants, living in nutrient-poor areas such as bogs and marshes. They are quite widespread and quite varied in form. They catch small insects on the sticky glands which tip the hairs on their leaves, which then curl around the insect and digest it.

This makes them interesting pot plants, and the glisten of their gluey glands gives them a particular beauty, which is referenced in both the scientific and the English names. They have other interesting features too, one of which is an odd method of reproduction, common in fungi and lichens but not in flowering plants.

The plant shown above is a pigmy sundew, one of about 40 species originating from sandy soils in Australia. The green blobs in the centre are gemmae, small self-contained reproductive units which can break off and grow independently.

The gemmae are easy to harvest, with care, and are easily found for sale, for example on eBay. The next photo is a couple of larger gemmae just harvested and planted.  Larger, but still only 2mm across.  I recently planted some that are only 0.5mm. Manipulating them is delicate work.

Gemmae of Drosera scorpioides beginning to sprout on my windowsill in Hayes, 10 December 2011.

On the left you can see the boat-shaped gemma, with the new plant just starting to develop leaves and a root. On the right, the leaves are a little more developed and even at this size, they look like sundews. I expect that Drosera scorpioides will be a bit more robust than the D. pycnoblasta above; some of its rosettes are dying off, but that might be because they flowered earlier this year.  I posted this photo: Drosera pycnoblasta flower.

I have had varying success with gemmae.  Two species, including last year's D. pycnoblasta gemmae, failed to grow, but one species did reasonably well. The last photo shows some rosettes of my half-success, Drosera pulchella. These are one year old from gemmae. They vary in size and health. The largest rosette is just over 1cm across and looking good, but the smallest (not in this photo) is almost invisible.

Drosera pulchella grown from gemmae after 1 year, on my windowsill in Hayes. 9 December 2011.