''Drosera subtilis'' is an erect annual 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 native to northern

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 a single site in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. In Western Australia, it has been collected from Beverley Springs Station,

Bigge Island Bigge Island is an island off the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley. The island lies approximately from the mainland, from which it is separated by Scott Strait. It is located betw ...

, and the Mitchell Plateau area all in the vicinity of the

Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts ...

. In the Northern Territory, it has been found near Little Nourlangie Rock. It grows over sandstone near seepage margins in skeletal sandstone sand and black

humus In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Lati ...

mixed soils. ''D. subtilis'' is anchored to the soil by a system of thin, fleshy roots and it lacks a

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 ...

. It produces small carnivorous leaves along erect, reddish stems that can be high.Lowrie, Allen. 1998. ''Carnivorous Plants of Australia'', Vol. 3. University of Western Australia Press: Nedlands, Western Australia. ''Drosera subtilis'' has white flowers with four petals on an

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

that can produce 50 or more individual flowers. Each flower has four white

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s that are 1.3–1.5 mm long with yellow pollen. Each flower also has two styles. It flowers from February to March. ''Drosera subtilis'' was first described by N. G. Marchant in 1982 in the '' Flora of Australia'' series.Schlauer, J. 2009
World Carnivorous Plant List - Nomenclatural Synopsis of Carnivorous Phanerogamous Plants
. Accessed online: 2 September 2009. He placed it into ''Drosera'' sect. ''Ergaleium'' with the largely south-west Australian erect or climbing tuberous sundews, even though it lacks a tuber.Marchant, N. G., and George, A. S. 1982. Droseraceae. ''Flora of Australia'', Vol. 8. pp. 9-64. Consensus among experts is that this species is misplaced and belongs with the allied and similar '' D. banksii'', another annual currently placed, perhaps incorrectly, in ''Drosera'' sect. ''Lasiocephala'', but this opinion has not yet been formally published.Rice, Barry. 2009
The tuberous erect & scrambling ''Drosera''
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ. Accessed online: 4 September 2009.Rice, Barry. 2009

The Carnivorous Plant FAQ. Accessed online: 4 September 2009.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5308555 Carnivorous plants of Australia Caryophyllales of Australia Flora of the Northern Territory Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1982 subtilis Taxa named by Neville Graeme Marchant

See also

References