Drosera stolonifera
Encyclopedia
Drosera stolonifera, sometimes referred to as the leafy sundew, is a tuber
ous perennial
species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia
. It produces 2 to 3 semi-erect lateral stems that grow 10 to 15 cm long. It is most closely related to D. purpurascens
, but differs by several characteristics including height and petiole
length. It is native to a number of swampy locations around Perth
south to Pinjarra
. It grows in peat
y water-logged soils in swamp heathland
and flowers from September to October. After a bushfire it will flower en masse.
The type specimens
were collected by Charles von Hügel
in the Swan River
region in 1833. D. stolonifera was formally described by Stephan Endlicher in his Enumeratio plantarum in 1837. For many years, different varieties and morphs of this species were included in the D. stolonifera complex
. Several of these forms and varieties were eventually described as subspecies
, which were then later elevated to species rank upon further examination. Much of the decision on how to deal with the species complex deals with a discussion of lumpers and splitters
. The debate began as early as 1906 when Ludwig Diels
reduced Jules Émile Planchon
's D. humilis
to a variety of D. stolonifera, thus also creating the autonym
D. stolonifera var. stolonifera. Then in 1982 N. G. Marchant
described several subspecies: D. stolonifera subsp. compacta, D. stolonifera subsp. humilis, and D. stolonifera subsp. rupicola, which Allen Lowrie
restored or elevated to species rank to D. purpurascens
, D. humilis
, and D. rupicola
, respectively. In 1992, Lowrie and Marchant together described several more subspecies: D. stolonifera subsp. monticola, D. stolonifera subsp. porrecta, and D. stolonifera subsp. prostrata. Lowrie restored subsp. porrecta to D. porrecta
and elevated subsp. prostrata to D. prostrata
in 2005. When publishing the elevation of subspecies monticola to species rank, Lowrie did not include a correct page citation for the basionym
, which under Article 33.4 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature made the new combined name invalid. The error has not yet been corrected, so the only two subspecies of D. stolonifera that remain are the autonym D. stolonifera subsp. stolonifera and D. stolonifera subsp. monticola
.
Within subspecies stolonifera, there are two morphs that Lowrie described in 2005, though not formally as a form
. He identified a typical variant from the swamplands that grows in peaty, sandy soils in winter-wet heaths and a "hills variant" that grows in well-drained clayey sands in Jarrah
woodlands and becomes redder as the foliage ages.
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 perennial
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...
species in the 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 produces 2 to 3 semi-erect lateral stems that grow 10 to 15 cm long. It is most closely related to D. purpurascens
Drosera purpurascens
Drosera purpurascens is a compact tuberous perennial species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to south-west Western Australia. It produces 1 erect or 2 to 5 semi-erect lateral stems that grow to 3 to 10 cm long. The compact size of the plant combined with relatively long petioles...
, but differs by several characteristics including height and petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
length. It is native to a number of swampy locations around Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
south to Pinjarra
Pinjarra, Western Australia
Pinjarra is a town in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, from the state capital, Perth and south-east of the coastal city of Mandurah. Its local government area is the Shire of Murray. At the 2006 census, Pinjarra had a population of 3,279.Pinjarra is an area...
. It grows in peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
y water-logged soils in swamp heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
and flowers from September to October. After a bushfire it will flower en masse.
The type specimens
Biological type
In biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...
were collected by Charles von Hügel
Charles von Hügel
Charles von Hügel was an Austrian army officer, diplomat, botanist and explorer, now primarily remembered for his travels in northern India during the 1830s...
in the Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
region in 1833. D. stolonifera was formally described by Stephan Endlicher in his Enumeratio plantarum in 1837. For many years, different varieties and morphs of this species were included in the D. stolonifera complex
Cryptic species complex
In biology, a cryptic species complex is a group of species which satisfy the biological definition of species—that is, they are reproductively isolated from each other—but whose morphology is very similar ....
. Several of these forms and varieties were eventually described as 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...
, which were then later elevated to species rank upon further examination. Much of the decision on how to deal with the species complex deals with a discussion of lumpers and splitters
Lumpers and splitters
Lumping and splitting refers to a well-known problem in any discipline which has to place individual examples into rigorously defined categories. The lumper/splitter problem occurs when there is the need to create classifications and assign examples to them, for example schools of literature,...
. The debate began as early as 1906 when 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...
reduced Jules Émile Planchon
Jules Émile Planchon
Jules Émile Planchon was a French botanist born in Ganges, Hérault.-Biography:After receiving his Doctorate of Science at the University of Montpellier in 1844, he worked for a while at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London, and for a few years was a teacher in Nancy and Ghent...
's D. humilis
Drosera humilis
Drosera humilis is a perennial tuberous species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It has 3 to 5 semi-erect stems that are 3 to 15 cm long with carnivorous leaves arranged in whorls around the stems. It is native to a region from the Moore River north to Kalbarri and...
to a variety of D. stolonifera, 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. stolonifera var. stolonifera. Then in 1982 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...
described several subspecies: D. stolonifera subsp. compacta, D. stolonifera subsp. humilis, and D. stolonifera subsp. rupicola, which 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...
restored or elevated to species rank to D. purpurascens
Drosera purpurascens
Drosera purpurascens is a compact tuberous perennial species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to south-west Western Australia. It produces 1 erect or 2 to 5 semi-erect lateral stems that grow to 3 to 10 cm long. The compact size of the plant combined with relatively long petioles...
, D. humilis
Drosera humilis
Drosera humilis is a perennial tuberous species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It has 3 to 5 semi-erect stems that are 3 to 15 cm long with carnivorous leaves arranged in whorls around the stems. It is native to a region from the Moore River north to Kalbarri and...
, and D. rupicola
Drosera rupicola
Drosera rupicola is a tuberous perennial species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It produces 3 to 5 semi-erect lateral stems that grow up to 15 cm long. The turbinate tuber and mobile lamina that are capable of folding over prey distinguish it from all other members...
, respectively. In 1992, Lowrie and Marchant together described several more subspecies: D. stolonifera subsp. monticola, D. stolonifera subsp. porrecta, and D. stolonifera subsp. prostrata. Lowrie restored subsp. porrecta to D. porrecta
Drosera porrecta
Drosera porrecta is a tuberous perennial species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It grows up to 45 cm tall. It is native to a region from Eneabba and Marchagee south to an area around Pinjarra, including the Darling Range and Mount Cooke...
and elevated subsp. prostrata to D. prostrata
Drosera prostrata
Drosera prostrata is a tuberous perennial species in the genus Drosera that is endemic to Western Australia. It produces 4 to 5 prostrate lateral stems that are 3.5 to 15 cm long. The prostrate growth habit is what sets it apart from all other members of the section Stolonifera...
in 2005. When publishing the elevation of subspecies monticola to species rank, Lowrie did not include a correct page citation for the basionym
Basionym
Basionym is a term used in botany, regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
, which under Article 33.4 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature made the new combined name invalid. The error has not yet been corrected, so the only two subspecies of D. stolonifera that remain are the autonym D. stolonifera subsp. stolonifera and D. stolonifera subsp. monticola
Drosera stolonifera subsp. monticola
Drosera stolonifera subsp. monticola, invalidly referred to as Drosera monticola, is a perennial carnivorous plant subspecies in the genus Drosera, the sundews. This specific subspecies is endemic to a single mountain range in Western Australia.D. stolonifera subsp...
.
Within subspecies stolonifera, there are two morphs that Lowrie described in 2005, though not formally as a form
Form (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, a form is one of the "secondary" taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, which in turn is below that of species; it is an infraspecific taxon...
. He identified a typical variant from the swamplands that grows in peaty, sandy soils in winter-wet heaths and a "hills variant" that grows in well-drained clayey sands in Jarrah
Jarrah
Eucalyptus marginata is one of the most common species of Eucalyptus tree in the southwest of Western Australia. The tree and the wood are usually referred to by the Aboriginal name Jarrah...
woodlands and becomes redder as the foliage ages.