Drosera praefolia facts for kids

Drosera praefolia is a special type of perennial plant, which means it lives for more than two years. It's a tuberous plant, meaning it grows from a round, underground storage organ, like a potato. This plant belongs to the Drosera genus, also known as sundews, which are famous for being carnivorous!

This particular sundew is found only in South Australia. It grows in a flat, circular shape called a rosette, usually about 4 to 6 centimeters wide. Its leaves are green, but sometimes they can have a reddish color.

Where it Lives

Drosera praefolia is native to the southeastern part of South Australia. You can find it from the southern Fleurieu Peninsula all the way south to Kangaroo Island.

What Kind of Soil it Likes

This sundew prefers to grow in certain types of soil. It thrives in lateritic clay-sand, loam, or decomposed shale soils. These are often found in open woodland areas.

When it Flowers

Drosera praefolia blooms during the autumn months. You can usually see its flowers from April to May.

How it Was Discovered

The plant was first officially described in 1892 by a person named Johann Gottlieb Otto Tepper. He found and collected specimens of this plant on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Early Confusion

Before 1892, in 1882, Tepper had sent descriptions and samples of the plant to Ferdinand von Mueller. Mueller thought it was a different variety of sundew and called it D. whittakeri var. aphylla, but he never officially published that name.

Debate Over its Name

For many years, there was a lot of discussion among scientists about whether Drosera praefolia should be its own species or just a part of another species, Drosera whittakeri.

• Some scientists, like Raymond Hamet in 1907 and John McConnell Black in 1924, thought it was a variety or subspecies of D. whittakeri.
• Others, like Allen Lowrie in 1989, also placed it as a subspecies.
• Some even thought it was the same as D. whittakeri and didn't need a separate name at all.

In 1991, Robert J. Bates argued that it should be recognized as its own species. However, he used a name that wasn't based on the first official description, which caused more confusion.

Modern Understanding

More recently, scientists Allen Lowrie and John Godfrey Conran looked closely at D. whittakeri and similar plants. They decided that Drosera praefolia is indeed different enough to be its own species.

What Makes it Different

Lowrie and Conran pointed out several key differences between Drosera praefolia and Drosera whittakeri:

• Drosera praefolia has white tubers, while D. whittakeri has orange ones.
• The leaves of Drosera praefolia appear after the plant flowers. For D. whittakeri, the leaves come out before flowering.
• The leaves of Drosera praefolia are ovate (egg-shaped) to obovate (reverse egg-shaped). D. whittakeri has broadly spathulate (spoon-shaped) leaves.

These differences helped scientists agree that Drosera praefolia deserves its own species name.