''Drosera filiformis'', commonly known as the thread-leaved sundew, is a small,

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

, rosette-forming species of

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 widel ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

. A species of sundew, it is unusual within its genus in that the long, erect, filiform (thread-like) leaves of this plant unroll in spirals – an arrangement similar to the circinate vernation seen in

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

Distribution and habitat

''D. filiformis'' occurs naturally in both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

; its natural range extends down the eastern seaboard of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

from south western

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canadian Committee on the status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada report for ''D. filiformis''
/ref> in the north down through

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

in the south.

Cultivation

''D. filiformis'' is frequently cultivated, with a few registered cultivars, such as ''D. filiformis'' var. ''filiformis'' (also known as ''D. filiformis'' typical), ''D. filiformis'' × 'California Sunset' (a hybrid between ''D. filiformis'' var. ''filiformis''. All of these cultivars are grown with similar conditions as most other ''Drosera'' species: mineral-poor soil and distilled,

reverse osmosis Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to separate ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic ...

, or collected rain water. ''D. filiformis'' require a winter dormancy for long-term survival, forming hibernacula in the winter.

Infraspecific taxa

*''Drosera filiformis'' f. ''tracyi'' (Macf. ''ex'' Diels) Macf. (1914) *''Drosera filiformis'' var. ''tracyi'' (Macf. ''ex'' Diels) Diels (1906) *''Drosera filiformis'' var. ''typica'' Winne (1944) ''nom.illeg.''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q366314 Carnivorous plants of North America filiformis Flora of the Eastern United States Flora of Canada Plants described in 1808 Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque