Drosera aliciae faring swimmingly

Drosera aliciae doesn’t mind living like this. No dike building is needed; the plants don’t drown.

A few long, slightly swollen roots anchor each D. aliciae plant and slake its thirst, but provide little nutrition. For that it has to rely on its glanded leaf tentacles that catch flies and more! See the stories in the Drosera Album to learn more about that.

On the side of the comparatively small leaf rosette a sturdy, leafless scape emerges in season for carrying the flowers. The curled reddish scapes seen here will straighten by the time the buds open, holding the flowers erectly.

The plant grows in many conditions, provided that there is water in the offing. D. trinervia grows in winter and is fairly hardy.

Several Drosera species are cultivated successfully, sometimes kept indoors (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; www.plantzafrica.com).