Drosera erythrorhiza
Encyclopedia
Drosera erythrorhiza, the red ink sundew, is a perennial
tuber
ous species in the carnivorous plant
genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia
. It grows in a rosette
and is distinguished from the other species in section Erythrorhiza
by its many-flowered cymose inflorescence
s with up to 50 individual flowers. D. erythrorhiza was first described by John Lindley
in his 1839 publication A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River Colony
. In 1992, N. G. Marchant
and Allen Lowrie
described three new subspecies
, thus also creating the autonym
D. erythrorhiza subsp. erythrorhiza. The subspecies were separated from this variable species mostly by leaf morphology and distribution.
D. erythrorhiza subsp. collina is named for its native hilly habitat and typically has more leaves of various shapes within the same rosette. D. erythrorhiza subsp. erythrorhiza has fewer, wider leaves as compared to D. erythrorhiza subsp. magna, which has larger (wider) leaves and frequently has more of them. Finally, D. erythrorhiza subsp. squamosa was originally described by George Bentham
in 1864 at the species rank as Drosera squamosa. Marchant and Lowrie reduced it to the subspecies rank under D. erythrorhiza. Subspecies squamosa differs from subsp. erythrorhiza in the appearance of red leaf margins caused by the dense red tentacle
s. Earlier, in his 1906 taxonomic monograph of the Droseraceae
, Ludwig Diels
introduced a new variety, D. erythrorhiza var. imbecilla.
A competing taxonomy was developed and introduced by Jindřich Chrtek and Zdeňka Slavíková in 1999 where the authors argue for the reclassification of the tuberous Drosera (encompassing all of Drosera subgenus Ergaleium
) into Johann Georg Christian Lehmann
's 1844 genus Sondera that had been reduced to a synonym of Drosera. In doing so, Chrtek and Slavíková elevated Marchant and Lowrie's subspecies and established the following species: Sondera collina, S. erythrorhiza, S. magna, and S. squamosa. This reclassification, however, is not widely followed.
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
ous species in the carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It grows in a rosette
Rosette (botany)
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...
and is distinguished from the other species in section Erythrorhiza
Drosera sect. Erythrorhiza
Drosera sect. Erythrorhiza is a section of 14 species of tuberous species in the genus Drosera. It represents a natural group of all the rosetted tuberous Drosera...
by its many-flowered cymose inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s with up to 50 individual flowers. D. erythrorhiza was first described by John Lindley
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
in his 1839 publication A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River Colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Sketch Veg. Swan R., is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony...
. In 1992, N. G. Marchant
N. G. Marchant
Neville Graeme Marchant is a retired Western Australian botanist. He was formerly the Director of the Western Australian Herbarium.Marchant began working for the Western Australian Herbarium at the age of 15, as a laboratory assistant to Government Botanist Charles Gardner. Later he attended the...
and Allen Lowrie
Allen Lowrie
Allen Lowrie is a West Australian botanist. He is living in Duncraig, a Perth suburb, is married and has two daughters.Lowrie, originally a businessman and inventor, got in contact with the carnivorous flora of western Australia in the late sixties and worked on it as an amateur...
described three new subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, thus also creating the autonym
Autonym (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....
D. erythrorhiza subsp. erythrorhiza. The subspecies were separated from this variable species mostly by leaf morphology and distribution.
D. erythrorhiza subsp. collina is named for its native hilly habitat and typically has more leaves of various shapes within the same rosette. D. erythrorhiza subsp. erythrorhiza has fewer, wider leaves as compared to D. erythrorhiza subsp. magna, which has larger (wider) leaves and frequently has more of them. Finally, D. erythrorhiza subsp. squamosa was originally described by George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
in 1864 at the species rank as Drosera squamosa. Marchant and Lowrie reduced it to the subspecies rank under D. erythrorhiza. Subspecies squamosa differs from subsp. erythrorhiza in the appearance of red leaf margins caused by the dense red tentacle
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s. Earlier, in his 1906 taxonomic monograph of the Droseraceae
Droseraceae
Droseraceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. The family is also known under its common name, the sundew family.It consists of carnivorous plants: besides the sundews, the genus Drosera, it also contains the even more-famous Venus fly trap Dionaea muscipula...
, Ludwig Diels
Ludwig Diels
Dr. Friedrich Ludwig Emil Diels , 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 Pritzel through South Africa, Java, Australia and New Zealand. Shortly before the first world war he...
introduced a new variety, D. erythrorhiza var. imbecilla.
A competing taxonomy was developed and introduced by Jindřich Chrtek and Zdeňka Slavíková in 1999 where the authors argue for the reclassification of the tuberous Drosera (encompassing all of Drosera subgenus Ergaleium
Drosera subg. Ergaleium
Drosera subg. Ergaleium, collectively known as the tuberous sundews, is a subgenus of three sections of tuberous species in the genus Drosera...
) into Johann Georg Christian Lehmann
Johann Georg Christian Lehmann
Johann Georg Christian Lehmann was a German botanist.Born at Haselau, near Uetersen, Holstein, Lehmann studied medicine in Copenhagen and Göttingen, obtained a doctorate in medicine in 1813 and a doctorate in philosophy from he University of Jena in 1814...
's 1844 genus Sondera that had been reduced to a synonym of Drosera. In doing so, Chrtek and Slavíková elevated Marchant and Lowrie's subspecies and established the following species: Sondera collina, S. erythrorhiza, S. magna, and S. squamosa. This reclassification, however, is not widely followed.