''Drosera binata'', commonly known as the forked sundew or fork-leaved sundew,Salmon, B. 2001. ''Carnivorous Plants of New Zealand''. Ecosphere Publications. is a large,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "having pairs" - a reference to the leaves, which are dichotomously divided or forked. Like all sundews, it is a

Carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...

. It is unique among sundews in having narrow, branching leaves. It is the only species in the ''Drosera''

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Phycopsis''. ''D. binata'' occurs naturally in Australia, primarily in coastal areas from

Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, southwards down through

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and the south-east corner of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The range of this species extends to New Zealand where it is common below an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of 1000 metres, being found in both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

Islands,

Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

and farther afield on the Chathams. Some populations go dormant in the winter, while others are truly tropical.

Taxonomy and botanical history

Plants similar to the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

, commonly referred to as the "T-form", were first collected in 1792 by the French exploration of Australia's southern coast led by

Bruni d'Entrecasteaux Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...

. The naturalist on board that expedition,

Jacques Labillardière Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière (28 October 1755 – 8 January 1834) was a French biologist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the Jean-François de Galaup, comte ...

, first described ''D. binata'' in his 1804 publication on the flora of Australia, ''

Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen ''Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen'' is a two-volume work describing the flora of Australia. Facsimiles of the originals can be found in the onlinBiodiversity Heritage Library (Vol.1)anVol 2) The author was the French botanist Jacques Labillar ...

''. The T-form, so named for its single leaf bifurcation spreading into a T-shape, is a robust plant from temperate zones that can grow up to and has green foliage that becomes redder with age. This form has been described as being genetically stable.Gilbert, I. 1984
''Drosera binata''.
''

Carnivorous Plant Newsletter The ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' is the official publication of the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS), the largest such organization in the world. It is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. History and editorship The newsle ...

'', 13(3): 74-76.Rice, B. 2010
Any other ''Drosera'' species.
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ v. 11.5. Retrieved 25 January 2010. The second observed form, commonly referred to as var. ''dichotoma'', is similar to the T-form, but the foliage is yellower and the leaf typically divides into four terminal leaf points, though it has been known to produce as many as eight leaf points. It was first validly described in an 1819 volume of ''

Rees's Cyclopædia Rees's ''Cyclopædia'', in full ''The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature'' was an important 19th-century British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minister and scholar w ...

'' by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

as ''D. dichotoma'', based on the description by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

and

Daniel Solander Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander (19 February 1733 – 13 May 1782) was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil. Biography ...

. This name, however, has since been reduced to

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''D. binata''.Schlauer, J. 2010
World Carnivorous Plant List - Nomenclatural Synopsis of Carnivorous Phanerogamous Plants
Retrieved 25 January 2010. This morphological form was first published as "var. ''dichotoma''" by J. A. Mazrimas in a 1976 volume of the ''

'', but the publication of that name was invalid under the rules of the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

. Even though the name is not valid, it is still widely used in cultivation to refer to this ''D. binata'' form.Mazrimas, J. A. 1976
The ''Drosera binata'' complex.
''

, 5(1): 15. This was one of many plants used by

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

in his investigation of carnivorous plants for his 1875 book '' Insectivorous Plants''.Darwin, C. 1875
''Insectivorous Plants''.
London: John Murray. pp. 281-282. A third described form, often called ''D. binata'' f. ''multifida'', has even more leaf divisions, bifurcating several times to produce anywhere from eight to 16 or even 30 terminal leaf points. This, too, was published by J. A. Mazrimas in the same 1976 volume of the ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'' as var. ''multifida'', referring to the description of a 27-point ''D. binata'' found by George Ashley and published in a 1975 volume of the ''Carnivorous Plant Newsletter''.Ashley, G. 1975
The search for the 27 point ''Drosera binata''.
''

'', 4(3): 48. Neither of these names were validly published, but again they remain in use among carnivorous plant growers. A final form, known for producing up to 40 terminal leaf points, is frequently titled f. ''extrema'', another name that has never been validly published but remains in use. Two

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s of ''D. binata'' have been named. ''Drosera'' 'Giant' is a particularly large form of the "var. ''dichotoma''" type and was published by

Peter D'Amato Peter D'Amato is an American author, businessman, and carnivorous plant authority. He is the owner of California Carnivores, located in Sebastopol, possibly the largest nursery of carnivorous plants in the world, and the author of '' The Savage ...

in 1998 and registered in 1999. The other, ''Drosera'' 'Marston Dragon', was published by Adrian Slack in 1986 and registered in 2001.

References

External links

NZ Carnivorous plants society website page about this species

''Drosera binata'' Occurrence data
from AVH {{Taxonbar, from=Q138163 Carnivorous plants of New Zealand Carnivorous plants of Australia Flora of the Chatham Islands Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (Australia) binata Caryophyllales of Australia Plants described in 1804

Taxonomy and botanical history

See also

References

External links