BogTrapsA field guide to growing carnivorous plants

Genus, family Droseraceae

Drosera

Sundews

Published October 15, 2026Awaiting editor review35 sources

WCVP accepts 260 species of Drosera and 16 named hybrids [1]. A 2003 molecular study described the genus as mainly Australian, African and South American, with fewer species in the Northern Hemisphere, and found that all sundews form a single lineage whose closest relatives are the snap-trap genera Dionaea and Aldrovanda [2]. Most species grow in wet, nutrient-poor places such as sphagnum bogs, seeps and rainforest stream banks, while the pygmy and tuberous sundews of southern Australia wait out dry summers as dormant buds or underground tubers [3, 4, 5, 6].

Accepted species
260[1]
Named hybrids
16
Trap
Flypaper trap
Profiles here
6

Species profiles

Drosera adelae

Lance-leaved sundew

Flypaper trap

A rainforest sundew from northeast Queensland with long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves. It wants warmth and high humidity rather than full sun, and spreads readily from its roots.

Drosera binata

Forked sundew

Flypaper trap

An Australian and New Zealand sundew whose long-stalked leaves fork into two or more sticky arms. A warm temperate plant, it dies back for part of each year and regrows from its roots.

Drosera capensis

Cape sundew

Flypaper trap

A South African rosette sundew with long, strap-shaped leaves and pink flowers, widely grown because it tolerates a range of soils and propagates readily from seed and cuttings.

Drosera filiformis

Thread-leaved sundew

Flypaper trap

An Atlantic coastal plain sundew whose leaves are upright red threads up to 25 cm tall. It survives winter as a woolly bud and is easily confused with its larger Gulf Coast cousin, D. tracyi.

Drosera regia

King sundew

Flypaper trap

A large South African sundew with sword-like leaves that can pass 45 cm, from a few mountain seeps near Cape Town. It is an evolutionary outlier in the genus and, unusually, benefits from fertilizer in the soil.

Drosera rotundifolia

Round-leaved sundew

Flypaper trap

A small circumboreal sundew of sphagnum bogs with round, red-fringed leaves on long stalks. It needs a cold winter, which it spends as a tight resting bud.

Tentacles that move

A sundew leaf is covered in tentacles: stalked glands, each holding a drop of sticky mucilage at its tip. ICPS describes them as multipurpose. They snag an insect, bend so that more tentacles touch and coat it, and then release digestive enzymes [18]. The leaf blade can also roll or bend around the prey. Nutrients are taken up through the tentacles, the leaf surface and small sessile glands [19]. That movement is what separates Drosera from flypaper relatives such as Drosophyllum and Byblis, whose tentacles stay still [18].

One Australian species goes further. Drosera glanduligera has touch-sensitive snap-tentacles along the leaf edge that fling a walking insect onto the sticky tentacles in the center, a catapult action first analyzed in detail in 2012 [20].

The weakness of a flypaper trap is water. Rain washes prey off the leaves, which ICPS suggests is one reason so few sundews live in rainforest; D. schizandra, from the wettest sites, appears to be giving up carnivory [4]. In cultivation, the dew itself is the best health check. PlantZAfrica notes that drying out reduces mucilage, and that dew can stop for a while after repotting or handling [21]. See sundew not making dew for other causes.

Where sundews grow

WCVP accepts 260 species [1]. A 2003 DNA study, working with a count of nearly 150, placed the African D. regia and most Australian species near the base of the genus’s evolutionary tree and suggested the genus began in Africa or Australia; only a few lineages later spread into the Northern Hemisphere [2].

Australia, and Western Australia in particular, holds a large share of the diversity. There are over 50 pygmy sundews, mostly from southern Western Australia [5]. Most tuberous species are narrowly endemic to the same state [6], and the woolly sundews of the D. petiolaris complex add 13 named species in the tropical north, though ICPS notes that the real number is debatable because they hybridize so freely [22]. The Northern Hemisphere has four cold temperate species (D. linearis, D. rotundifolia, D. anglica and D. intermedia) [3], plus warm temperate species such as D. capillaris and D. brevifolia in the southeastern United States [23].

Habitats range from sphagnum bogs and alkaline marl fens [3] to rainforest stream banks in Queensland [4] and sandy ground along creeks that run only in the wet season [13].

The cultivation groups

ICPS organizes its sundew guides by the climate a plant comes from rather than by botanical section [24]. The table summarizes those groups using the ICPS guides for each [10, 4, 22, 5, 6, 25, 23, 3]:

Group Examples What it expects Main difference in care
Tropical D. adelae and its sisters, D. burmannii, the D. indica and D. petiolaris complexes Frost-free conditions all year Heat for most; high humidity for the rainforest species; several are annuals
Subtropical D. capensis, D. aliciae, D. venusta, D. slackii 10-35 °C (50-95 °F), no winter rest Grows year round in a terrarium, greenhouse or under lights
Winter-growing Pygmy and tuberous sundews, D. glanduligera Cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers Grows in the cool season, rests in summer; needs natural day length
D. regia One species Cool mountain seeps Treated almost like a Sarracenia, including soil fertilizer
Warm temperate D. capillaris, D. brevifolia, D. binata Mild winters with some frost No winter bud; outdoors all year in USDA zone 9 and warmer
Cold temperate D. rotundifolia, D. anglica, D. intermedia, D. linearis, D. filiformis A real winter Forms a winter bud and needs months of cold dormancy

Subtropical sundews

This is the group most people start with. ICPS calls the subtropicals the best terrarium and greenhouse sundews: they grow between 10 and 35 °C (50 and 95 °F) and need no dormancy, though they want more light than a windowsill gives and more humidity than most houses [10]. They accept pure sphagnum or peat:sand mixes anywhere from 30% to 100% peat, live for years with repotting every 3 to 5 years, and root easily from stem, root or leaf cuttings [10]. The Cape sundew is the familiar example.

Tropical sundews

The three Queensland “sisters” grow along rainforest streams and differ from each other: D. adelae likes it hot and humid, D. prolifera likes warmth but tolerates cool, and D. schizandra declines above 25 °C (78 °F) [4]. They also need less light than other sundews. The ICPS lighting table puts most Drosera at 15,000 to 25,000 lux of white light, D. adelae and D. prolifera at 8,000 to 15,000 lux, and D. schizandra at about 3,000 lux [12].

The woolly sundews of the D. petiolaris complex need heat instead. ICPS says they do best in the low 30s °C (mid 80s °F) in summer and dislike anything below 18 °C (65 °F), so some growers in temperate regions put heating mats under the trays [22]. D. burmannii and the D. indica complex are annuals that grow fast and flower themselves to death [13, 26]. Removing flower stalks as they appear can keep D. burmannii going for several years [26].

Winter-growing sundews

Pygmy sundews are usually 15 to 20 mm across. They grow and flower through winter and spring, then sit out the summer as a stipule bud, and in autumn the bud produces gemmae, tiny propagules that grow into new plants [5]. They need intense light; ICPS recommends LEDs, and warns that plants kept on a fixed day length may never flower or make gemmae. A 1:2 peat:sand mix helps keep moss down [5]. The pygmy gemmae guide covers sowing them.

Tuberous sundews sprout in early autumn, flower by late spring and retreat to underground tubers for the summer. Temperatures above 25 °C (78 °F) can make them die back and will kill seedlings, and most are poor terrarium plants [6]. Cold stratification does not work for their seed, and some species germinate best after a period of warm, damp soil instead [6]. D. glanduligera is a short-lived winter annual whose seed needs cold nights to germinate [27].

Warm and cold temperate sundews

Warm temperate species handle frost but form no winter bud and cannot take long freezes. ICPS suggests growing them outside all year in USDA zone 9 and warmer, and overwintering them in a cold frame or garage window elsewhere [23]. D. binata belongs here, and every form goes through a dormant period [28].

Cold temperate species form a tight winter bud (hibernaculum). D. rotundifolia and D. anglica expect about six months of dormancy, and northern D. intermedia up to nine. ICPS advises choosing plants from a climate like your own and growing them outdoors, with the pots always standing in water while the plants are growing [3]. Their seed needs about four weeks of damp cold at 1 to 4 °C before it will germinate [3]; see cold stratification. The ICPS guide’s author repots the small species every year in early spring, as the buds begin to open, because moss can grow over them [29]. The thread-leaved sundew is a larger cold temperate plant from the Atlantic coast that can go two years between repottings [30, 29].

Drosera regia

The king sundew gets its own ICPS guide. Its leaves can reach 45 cm (18 in), and the guide’s author knows of no other sundew that benefits from fertilizer in the soil [25].

Feeding and light

ICPS advises against any fertilizer in the soil of subtropical sundews. Plants that catch little can be fed rehydrated dried bloodworms, placed only on leaves that are dewy [10]. D. regia is the exception that wants soil fertilizer [25]. At the other extreme, D. prolifera and D. schizandra burn easily from bloodworms and foliar fertilizer, and all three rainforest sisters do best on live small flies [4]. The feeding guide has more detail.

Light is where most indoor sundews fall short. ICPS also cautions that some Drosera are sensitive to the blue-to-red balance of purple plant lights, and that some growers use only blue and white light for them [12]. The light guide explains how to reach the lux levels above.

Good first sundews

The sources point to a few reliable starters:

  • Subtropical rosettes, because they need no dormancy [10]. PlantZAfrica calls D. capensis one of the hardiest carnivorous plants to grow [21].
  • D. adelae, which ICPS lists among the easiest sundews, provided the air is humid. It spreads by roots into neighboring pots [4].
  • Local cold temperate species grown outdoors, chosen from a climate zone like yours [3].
  • D. regia, which ICPS calls the most spectacular of the easy sundews, for growers who can give it a large pot and bright light [25].

Heat-loving growers can try D. paradoxa or D. petiolaris, which ICPS suggests as beginner woolly sundews [22]. Most tuberous sundews are hard to grow, though the D. peltata complex is more forgiving [6].

Propagation

Most sundews root from leaf cuttings, which give exact copies of the parent and reach maturity faster than seedlings. ICPS floats leaves tentacle side up in about 1 cm of distilled or reverse-osmosis water in a closed jar or test tube [8]. Little happens in the first month. D. filiformis and D. binata can sprout quickly in the second, while D. slackii can take five months [8]. The exceptions are pygmies (gemmae), tuberous species (seed or sterile culture), the D. petiolaris group (leaf pullings that keep the stipule) and D. regia (root cuttings) [8]. See sundew leaf cuttings.

Conservation and trade

No Drosera species is listed under CITES. Species+ shows the Venus flytrap as the only listed member of the family [31]. National laws still apply. Germany, for example, gives all its native sundews the status of specially protected species, covering wild populations only [32].

South Africa’s national Red List rates D. regia as Rare rather than threatened. It is a habitat specialist with an extent of occurrence of about 60 km², its habitat is well protected, and collecting at well-known sites is named as a potential threat [33]. Cultivated sundews can also escape. D. capensis has naturalized along a creek in Royal National Park near Sydney [34]. ICPS considers both field collection and the release of plants into the wild unethical [35].

Drosera species on this site

Profiled species link to their own page. The others are listed with a short sourced note because the published information is not yet enough for a full profile. Native ranges come from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants. The IUCN column links to each species' Red List assessment where one exists; this site does not reproduce Red List categories.

Select a column heading to sort. A dash in the IUCN column means no assessment is linked.
SpeciesNative range (WCVP)IUCN Red ListClimate groupNotes
Drosera adelae F.Muell.Lance-leaved sundewQueenslandAssessmentTropical lowland
Drosera aliciae Raym.-HametAlice sundewCape ProvincesSubtropicalSouth African rosette of wedge-shaped leaves up to 25 mm long that builds a mound of old leaves; the flower stalk leaves the rosette sideways before turning upward [9]. ICPS uses it to illustrate the subtropical group [10].
Drosera anglica Huds.Alaska, Alberta, Altay, Amur and 68 more regionsCold temperateGrows with D. rotundifolia in sphagnum bogs and expects about six months of dormancy; the Hawaiian form behaves like a cool tropical plant [3].
Drosera binata Labill.Forked sundewChatham Is., New South Wales, New Zealand North, New Zealand South and 5 more regionsAssessmentWarm temperate
Drosera capensis L.Cape sundewCape ProvincesSubtropical
Drosera filiformis Raf.Thread-leaved sundewConnecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland and 9 more regionsAssessmentCold temperate
Drosera hamiltonii C.R.P.AndrewsWestern AustraliaAssessmentNot publishedRosetted perennial to 0.4 m tall from peaty swamps in the far southwest of Western Australia, with pink to purple-red flowers in November and December [17].
Drosera indica L.Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Borneo and 48 more regionsAssessmentTropical lowlandAnnual of seasonal swamps and ephemeral creeks from Africa to Japan; most seed the ICPS Seed Bank sold under this name turned out to be D. finlaysoniana [13].
Drosera intermedia HayneAlabama, Arkansas, Austria, Baltic States and 74 more regionsCold temperateGrows in shallow water in bogs of eastern North America and Europe; northern forms are dormant up to nine months, while forms from Cuba and Venezuela rarely make winter buds and suit terrariums [3].
Drosera peltata Thunb.New South Wales, New Zealand North, South Australia, Tasmania and 1 more regionsAssessmentMediterraneanTuberous sundew of moist places in New South Wales and other Australian states, with tubers up to 6 mm across [15]; ICPS counts the D. peltata complex among the tuberous sundews most forgiving for beginners, and its flowers can self-pollinate [6].
Drosera prolifera C.T.WhiteQueenslandAssessmentTropical lowlandOne of the three Queensland rainforest 'sisters'; its horizontal flower stalks sprout new plants like strawberry runners, and its leaves burn easily from fertilizer or bloodworms [4].
Drosera regia StephensKing sundewCape ProvincesWarm temperate
Drosera rotundifolia L.Round-leaved sundewAlabama, Alaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is. and 107 more regionsAssessmentCold temperate
Drosera schizandra DielsQueenslandTropical highlandKnown only from cool rainforest on Mount Bartle Frere, Queensland, at 400-700 m; needs humidity, shade and temperatures below 25 °C [4]. ICPS rates it a low-light sundew [12].
Drosera scorpioides Planch.Western AustraliaAssessmentMediterraneanPygmy sundew from southwestern Western Australia, to 10 cm tall [14]; like other pygmies it is propagated from gemmae [5].
Drosera slackii CheekCape ProvincesSubtropicalWestern Cape endemic, nationally Least Concern [11]; its leaf cuttings can sit for five months before sprouting [8].
Drosera spatulata Labill.Borneo, Caroline Is., China Southeast, Japan and 13 more regionsNot publishedSmall rosette of spoon-shaped leaves 8-20 mm long, common in coastal wetlands and heath of eastern Australia [7]; a leaf cutting usually makes a single plantlet from the middle of the leaf [8].
Drosera tokaiensis (Komiya & Shibata) T.Nakam. & K.UedaJapanNot publishedJapanese allopolyploid derived from D. rotundifolia and D. spatulata; in some places it grows alongside both parents, and its life-history traits fall between theirs [16].
Drosera venusta DebbertCape ProvincesSubtropicalA South African subtropical sundew that, according to ICPS, grows best under cool conditions [10].

Guides that cover Drosera

Sources

  1. Drosera L.: World Checklist of Vascular Plants genus record (via GBIF). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; dataset published 2026-06-04, CC BY 4.0. Accepted species in the checklist: 260 (plus 16 named hybrids). Accessed October 12, 2026.
  2. Phylogeny of the sundews, Drosera (Droseraceae), based on chloroplast rbcL and nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA sequences. American Journal of Botany 90(1): 123-130 (2003), by F. Rivadavia, K. Kondo, M. Kato and M. Hasebe. Drosera as one lineage sister to Dionaea and Aldrovanda; D. regia and Australian species near the base; origin in Africa or Australia (abstract read via Europe PMC). Accessed October 12, 2026.
  3. Growing cold temperate Drosera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. The four northern cold temperate species, dormancy length, stratification, natural hybrids, tropical forms of D. intermedia and D. anglica. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  4. Growing Drosera adelae and Sisters. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Rainforest sundews of northeast Queensland; rain and ants as problems for flypaper traps; care of D. adelae, D. prolifera and D. schizandra. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  5. Growing pygmy Drosera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Over 50 species, summer dormancy, gemmae, light and day length, soil. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  6. Growing tuberous Drosera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Winter growth and summer tubers, heat limit, beginner species, deep pots, no cold stratification. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  7. Drosera spatulata, New South Wales Flora Online. PlantNET, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Leaf size and habitat. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  8. Drosera Leaf Cuttings. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Method, timelines, and which groups do not root from leaves. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  9. Drosera aliciae. PlantZAfrica, South African National Biodiversity Institute. Description and common names of D. aliciae. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  10. Growing Subtropical Drosera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Temperature range, no dormancy, soil, repotting interval, feeding, no soil fertilizer; D. aliciae, D. slackii and D. venusta as examples. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  11. Drosera slackii Cheek, National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2024.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Least Concern; Western Cape endemic. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  12. LED Plant Lighting. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Light requirement table by genus and species; lux levels for intense, moderate and low light. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  13. Growing Drosera indica complex species. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Annual habit, habitat, seed identity, warm bright conditions. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  14. Drosera scorpioides Planch., Florabase. Western Australian Herbarium, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Habit, size and distribution. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  15. Drosera peltata, New South Wales Flora Online. PlantNET, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Tuber size and distribution. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  16. Life history traits and coexistence of an amphidiploid, Drosera tokaiensis, and its parental species, D. rotundifolia and D. spatulata (Droseraceae). Plant Species Biology 19(2): 59-72 (2004), by M. Nakano, E. Kinoshita and K. Ueda. Hybrid origin of D. tokaiensis and coexistence with its parents (abstract read via Crossref). Accessed October 12, 2026.
  17. Drosera hamiltonii C.R.P.Andrews, Florabase. Western Australian Herbarium, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Habit, flowering, habitat and distribution. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  18. Carnivorous Plant Trapping Mechanisms. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Mobile tentacles of Drosera versus fixed tentacles of Drosophyllum and Byblis. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  19. Carnivorous Plant Digestion and Nutrient Assimilation. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Leaf rolling and tentacle bending; absorption through tentacles, leaf surface and sessile glands. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  20. Catapulting tentacles in a sticky carnivorous plant. PLoS ONE 7(9): e45735 (2012), by S. Poppinga, S. R. H. Hartmeyer, R. Seidel, T. Masselter, I. Hartmeyer and T. Speck. Snap-tentacles of D. glanduligera. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  21. Drosera capensis. PlantZAfrica, South African National Biodiversity Institute (Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden). D. capensis as one of the hardiest carnivorous plants to grow; causes of lost dew. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  22. Growing the Drosera petiolaris complex sundews. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Northern Australian woolly sundews; temperature needs; beginner species; propagation limits. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  23. Growing warm temperate Drosera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. D. capillaris and D. brevifolia groups; frost tolerance without hibernacula; USDA zone 9 and warmer. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  24. Growing Guides. International Carnivorous Plant Society. How ICPS groups its Drosera guides: tropical, subtropical, winter-growing, D. regia, warm temperate and cold temperate. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  25. Growing Drosera regia. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Easy but unusual sundew; the only Drosera that ICPS says benefits from soil fertilizer. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  26. Growing Drosera burmannii and D. sessilifolia. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Annuals in the wild that can be kept for years by removing flower stalks. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  27. Growing Drosera glanduligera. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Winter-growing annual that needs cold nights. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  28. Growing Drosera binata. International Carnivorous Plant Society. D. binata as a warm temperate sundew with a dormant period. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  29. Repot Cold Temperate Drosera in Spring. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Moss overgrowth; repot small species every spring as the winter buds open. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  30. Growing Drosera filiformis, D. tracyi, and their hybrids. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Thread-leaved sundews of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; winter buds. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  31. Species+ record: Droseraceae (CITES and EU listings). UNEP-WCMC and CITES Secretariat. Family listed as II/NC: Dionaea muscipula is in Appendix II, no Drosera is listed (confirmed through the Species+ API). Accessed October 12, 2026.
  32. Bundesartenschutzverordnung (BArtSchV), Anlage 1. Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany (gesetze-im-internet.de). Drosera spp.: all native species specially protected, wild populations only. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  33. Drosera regia Stephens, National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2024.1. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Rare; extent of occurrence 60 km²; collecting at well-known sites as a potential threat. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  34. Drosera capensis, New South Wales Flora Online. PlantNET, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney. Naturalised population in Royal National Park near Sydney. Accessed October 12, 2026.
  35. Conservation Policies. International Carnivorous Plant Society. Field collection and introductions into the wild regarded as unethical. Accessed October 12, 2026.