Drosera rotundifolia Makes Flowers!

Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn little plants.

That’s exactly what I thought to myself as I trekked through the highland meadow for the fourth time in search of Drosera rotundifolia’s flowers. It had been almost a month since I first found the population, and each week I returned in hopes of seeing its blooms. And after each of those weeks when I found the plants still were not producing, I would think to myself, “OK, one more week. How long can it take for one tiny little flower to bloom?” Little did I know how bull-headed D. rotundifolia can be.

After moving through about half of the (very large) area last weekend, we were only able to find a handful of plants that had flowers. Honestly, it was a little disappointing that after so many visits this would be all that we would find; but despite that, the overwhelming heat, and the mosquito swarms, it was still a pretty groovy experience. The flowers that we were able to find were white, very petite, and actually quite lovely. They are five-petaled, with what looks to be six stamens, and have radial symmetry.

D. rotundifolia in bloom. Its flowers will only fully open in bright sun.

All of D. rotundifolia's flowers are produced on one side of its stem, or more technically, the peduncle, the main stalk of a flower cluster.

D. rotundifolia has a dainty flower that has five petals and five sepals (in between the petals) that are characteristically as long as the petals.