Taxonomy
Family: Droseraceae
Habitat
Acid bogs or fens and sandy shores.
Associates
Distribution
Near the coast from Nova Scotia and CT, south to MD, southeastern NC, and parts of Florida.
Morphology
Perennial. Leaves erect, covered in glandular hairs that exude a sticky substance; blade of leaves filiform, up to 30 cm long and 1 mm in diameter; flowers 4-12, on a scape up to 25 cm; sepals 4-7 mm; petals 7-10 mm, pink to lavender, broadly ovate; stamens 5; ovary superior; fruit a 5-6 mm capsule; seeds dark brown, 0.5-0.8 mm.
Notes
Flowers May to September
Wetland indicator: OBL
These little plants are very photogenic. The sticky hairs are used to trap insects. The plants are able then to use the nitrogen from the insects to compensate for low available nitrogen in their acidic habitats.
References
Gleason, Henry A.
and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States
and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Mellichamp, T.L. 2015. Droseraceae. In: Flora of North America North of
Mexico, Vol. 6. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford.
Michael Hough © 2018 |