Round-leaved Sundew
Round-leaved Sundew
Carnivorous Plant
A tiny bog plant whose leaves glisten with sticky 'dew' — a glue that traps small flies so the plant can digest them to survive in soil too poor to feed it.
💡 Fun Facts
- Each tiny leaf is covered in red hairs tipped with glistening droplets that look like morning dew — but the 'dew' is sticky glue that traps small flies and midges.
- Once an insect is stuck, the hairs slowly curl over it and the leaf dissolves its catch to feed on it, because the boggy soil it lives in is far too poor to live on alone.
- It is one of only a handful of carnivorous plants that grow wild in Britain, and a whole plant is often no bigger than a 2p coin.
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:June to August
- Dormant:November to March
Name Story
Drosera rotundifolia
means “the dewy one with round leaves”
What does its name mean?
- Drosera — dewyGreek droseros ‘dewy’, from drosos ‘dew’
- rotundifolia — round-leavedLatin rotundus ‘round’ + folium ‘leaf’
Each round leaf glistens with sticky drops that look just like morning dew — but it’s a trap. A small insect lands, sticks fast, and the glistening ‘dew’ slowly digests it.