Jilin - Sundew

Jilin - Sundew

　　Sundews are a fascinating group of carnivorous plants. Most of them grow in low-lying mountain foothills, marshes, and wet meadows, and are typically small perennial herbaceous plants. The Droseraceae family includes four genera, with the Drosera genus comprising about 90 species. Sundews are generally found in tropical and temperate regions, with more than half distributed in Australia, and China has six species.

　　Sundews are passive-trapping carnivorous plants, and based on the shape of their leaves, they can be divided into round-leaved sundews and long-leaved sundews.

　　One type of round-leaved sundew is called dewthread, a small perennial herb with clustered leaves that spread out radially. On those round leaves are over 200 tentacle-like hairs of varying lengths—longer around the edges and shorter in the center—forming a small concave trap. At the tip of each hair is a pinkish bead that secretes a layer of sticky fluid, giving the appearance of glistening red "dewdrops." These "dewdrops" not only have bright colors but also emit a sweet scent to attract insects.