Drosera pedicellaris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Drosera pedicellaris |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Drosera
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| Species: |
pedicellaris
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| Range of D. pedicellaris in the wild. | |
Drosera pedicellaris is a super cool type of sundew plant. It's known as a "pygmy sundew" because it's really tiny! This plant was first found in 1997 and officially named in 2002 by a person named Allen Lowrie.
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What Does Drosera pedicellaris Look Like?
This little plant grows close to the ground. It forms a flat, circular shape called a rosette. It can be up to 1.5 centimeters tall and about 1.8 centimeters wide. Like other pygmy sundews, it can make copies of itself without seeds. It does this by growing special little buds called gemmae in the autumn.
Its Leaves
Each plant can have up to twenty leaves. The leaves in the middle stand up a bit, while the ones on the outside lie almost flat. The stems of the leaves, called petioles, are a little bit hairy. They are about 4 to 5 millimeters long. The actual leaf part is round and tiny, only about one millimeter across.
Its Flowers
In October or November, Drosera pedicellaris grows one to three flower stalks. These stalks can reach up to five centimeters tall and have up to twenty flowers on them! Each flower has five white petals. The petals have a green part at their base. They are about 3.5 millimeters long. The pollen inside the flowers is orange. What's special about these flowers is their unusually long stems, called pedicels. The seeds are shaped like tiny eggs and are only 0.5 millimeters long.
Where Does Drosera pedicellaris Live?
We only know of two places where Drosera pedicellaris grows naturally. Both spots are in Western Australia, southwest of Geraldton and near a town called Three Springs. It likes to grow in sandy areas with low shrubs. You can also find this plant in the Stirling Ranges, which are east of Perth city in Western Australia.
Because we don't know much about other places where this plant might grow, and we need to study it more, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation has listed it as "Priority One - Poorly Known Taxa." This means it's a plant they are watching closely because not much is known about it.
Naming the Plant
Drosera pedicellaris belongs to a big group of plants called "pygmy sundews." It's very similar to another plant called Drosera parvula.
The second part of its name, pedicellaris, comes from the Latin word for "pedicel." This name was chosen because the plant has very long pedicels, which are the little stalks that hold its flowers.
