Range: Stirling Range and adjacent of southwest Australia

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One of a handful of attractively tall stem-forming pygmy sundews, this species is found entirely within Stirling Range National Park where it grows on runoff slopes where clay soils are overlain in scattered chunks of sandstone. Plants may reach over 5 cm in height, held up by reddish prop roots and topped in a 1.4 cm rosette of semi-erect to horizonally held paddle-shaped leaves. Petioles are slender and tapered from base to lamina, covered on their back in tiny whitish glands. Lamina are elliptic and often curve upward, ringed especially along their outer edge in extremely long tnetacles. Coloration is generally bright green with red tentacles to solid red lamina giving a bicolor appearance. Inflorescences are relatively short at only up to 2.5 cm tall with a dense covering of white or red-tipped glandular hairs, and bear up to 4 blooms. Each flower is approx.. 1.2 cm in diameter, with broad teardrop-shaped brilliantly pink petals often laced with slightly darker veins. This species is distinguished from all its relatives primarily by its glandular covering of hairs on the flower stalk and in some cases the size and color of its flowers.

 

Cultivation: grow in a 3:1 sand/peat mix in a deep pot, kept moist and humid in winter with temps of around 50-70°F. In summer temperatures may be allowed to warm and photoperiod increase, but avoid allowing to dry out otherwise they will form dormant ovate stipule buds that can be difficult to reactivate. Sow seeds or gemmae on soil surface (seeds may require hot stratification or other treatments to germinate), and grow under strong artificial light to full sun.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: perennial. Reproduces primarily through seeds (may require different clones) or gemmae, also possibly through leaf pullings.

 

Sources: Lowrie et al. (2017). Drosera of the World Vol. 2. Redfern Natural History Publications.