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Round-leaved Sundew
Drosera rotundifolia
γ’γ¦γ»γ³γ΄γ±
A carnivorous plant growing in bogs. Numerous red sticky tentacles on the leaf surface capture insects with mucilage and digest them for nutrient absorption. It is distributed from the bogs of Hokkaido to the alpine marshes of Kyushu.
Identification Points
- βLeaves are circular to elliptical, spreading in a rosette
- βDense, long red glandular hairs (tentacles) secreting mucilage cover the leaf surface
- βTentacles and leaf blade curl inward around captured prey
Habitat
Raised bogs, wetlands, and peat bogs
Season
JulyβAugust (flowers)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Growth form
Herb
Leaf shape
Round
Habitat
Wetland
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Free
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Positionγ’γ¦γ»γ³γ΄γ±η§ β
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Caryophyllales > Droseraceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous (ca. 90 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
The carnivorous function in Droseraceae is thought to have evolved independently multiple times as an adaptation to bog environments extremely poor in nitrogen and phosphorus. The digestive enzyme-secreting glands developed from specialized glandular trichomes.
View on evolution timeline βSources & References
AI-generated, needs verification