Range: southwest Australia, from Arrowsmith to Cataby

 

Named after a reference to permanent springs in the area (ena-abba meaning “small water” in Aborigine), this pygmy sundew species grows almost exclusively in white silicate sand plants within open shrubby areas that may get very dry during summer. Plants may reach 2 cm in diameter, forming a flat rosette with slender paddle-shaped leaves. Petioles are very narrow, parallel and sparsely covered in clearish glands, and the lamina are nearly rounded to slightly elliptic in shape with long marginal tentacles on the distal edge. Coloration tends to be bright to olive green in the petioles, sometimes blushing red in the outer half, with crimson lamina and tentacles for a usually bicolor appearance. Inflorescences may  reach 12 cm in height and are covered especially in the upper sections in red-tipped white glands, and bear up to 15 flowers. Each bloom is up to 1.5 cm in diameter, with roughly oblong petals that usually bear distinctively emarginated tips with sharp indentations. Flower color may be nearly pure white to rich pink, usually with darker pink margins, and nearly always with a red spot near the base of each petal. This species can be distinguished from close relatives like closterostigma and spilos by its more elliptic lamina, more oblong petals, and more eglandular base of the inflorescence as well as minute seed details.

 

Cultivation: grow in a deep pot in a 3:1 sand/peat soil, kept moist and moderately humid during the winter growing season with temperatures of 45-65°F. In summer, avoid allowing to dry out completely to avoid dormancy, but keep drier and with temperatures of 70-90°F. Grow in strong artificial light to full sun mimicking seasonal photoperiod changes to trigger flower and gemmae production, and expect seeds if produced to require hot stratification and possibly smoke exposure to germinate.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: short-lived perennial. Reproduces through gemmae and, rarely, seed, and may possibly be grown through leaf pullings or crown division.

 

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/182970022 Author “Mr. Hopper” under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Lowrie et al. (2017). Drosera of the World Vol. 2. Redfern Natural History Publications.