''Drosera menziesii'', the pink rainbow, is an erect or scrambling

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 ...

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

ous species in the

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 ...

genus ''

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

''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and grows in a variety of habitats, including winter-wet depressions, swamps, and granite outcrops in clay or

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

sand soils or

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

. ''D. menziesii'' produces small, circular carnivorous leaves along an undulating erect stem that can be high. Its pink flowers emerge from July to November.D'Amato, Peter. 1998. '' The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants''. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, California. pp. 157.Erickson, Rica. 1968. ''Plants of Prey in Australia''. Lamb Paterson Pty. Ltd.: Osborne Park, Western Australia. pp. 35-36. ''Drosera menziesii'' was first mentioned by Robert Brown and then formally described by

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candol ...

in 1824. A type specimen (B 100294474) collected by

Georgiana Molloy Georgiana Molloy (23 May 1805 – 8 April 1843) was an early settler in Western Australia, who is remembered as one of the first botanical collectors in the colony. Her husband, John, was involved in the Wonnerup massacre, and she has been the ...

Vasse River The Vasse River is a river in the South West of Western Australia. The headwaters of the river are in the Whicher Range below Chapman Hill and it flows in a northerly direction through the City of Busselton until discharging into the Vasse Es ...

is held in the Herbarium Berolinense, Berlin (B). Four subspecies have been published, including the

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

. In 1864,

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

published three

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: var. ''albiflora'', which is now a synonym of '' D. macrantha'' and var. ''flavescens'', which is no longer a valid taxon and had been used to refer to what are now known as '' D. intricata'' and '' Drosera subhirtella''. In the same year, Bentham described a new species, ''D. penicillaris'', which

Ludwig Diels Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels (24 September 1874 – 30 November 1945) was a German botanist. Diels was born in Hamburg, the son of the classical scholar Hermann Alexander Diels. From 1900 to 1902 he traveled together with Ernst Georg Prit ...

reduced to a variety under ''D. menziesii'' in 1906. N. G. Marchant and

Allen Lowrie Allen Lowrie (10 October 1948 - 30 August 2021) was a Western Australian botanist. He was recognised for his expertise on the genera ''Drosera'' and '' Stylidium''.Council of Heads of Australasian HerbariaResources of Australian Herbaria: Western ...

later moved var. ''penicillaris'' to a subspecies of ''D. menziesii'' in 1992. Ludwig Diels also described a new species, ''D. thysanosepala'' in 1906, which N. G. Marchant reduced to a subspecies of ''D. menziesii'' in 1982. Lastly, Marchant and Lowrie described subspecies ''basifolia'' in 1992, which they note is distinguished by the dense cluster of basal, alternate cauline leaves on the lower part of the stem.Schlauer, J. 2009
World Carnivorous Plant List - Nomenclatural Synopsis of Carnivorous Phanerogamous Plants
Accessed online: 29 August 2009.Marchant, N. G., and Lowrie, A. 1992. New names and new combinations in 34 taxa of Western Australian tuberous and pygmy ''Drosera''. ''Kew Bulletin'', 47(2): 315-328.

References

External links

* * * * Carnivorous plants of Australia Caryophyllales of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1824 menziesii {{WesternAustralia-plant-stub