Drosera Subg. Phycopsis

''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 sundew native to Australia and New Zealand. The specific epithet is Latin for "having pairs" - a reference to the leaves, which are dichotomously divided or forked.

Like all sundews, it is a Carnivorous plant. It is unique among sundews in having narrow, branching leaves. It is the only species in the ''Drosera'' subgenus ''Phycopsis''.

''D. binata'' occurs naturally in Australia, primarily in coastal areas from Fraser Island in Queensland, southwards down through New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania and the south-east corner of South Australia. The range of this species extends to New Zealand where it is common below an elevation of 1000 metres, being found in both the North and South Islands, Stewart Island/Rakiura 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, 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. The naturalist on board that expedition, Jacques Labillardière, first described ''D. binata'' in his 1804 publication on the flora of Australia, '' Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen''. 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'', 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'' by James Edward Smith as ''D. dichotoma'', based on the description by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. This name, however, has since been reduced to synonymy 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 '' Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'', but the publication of that name was invalid under the rules of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. 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.
'' Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, 5(1): 15. This was one of many plants used by Charles Darwin 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''.
'' Carnivorous Plant Newsletter'', 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 cultivars 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 in 1998 and registered in 1999. The other, ''Drosera'' 'Marston Dragon', was published by Adrian Slack in 1986 and registered in 2001.

See also

* List of ''Drosera'' species
* Taxonomy of ''Drosera''

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