Sometimes you should look down, part 2: Sundew

The sundew pictured to the right (I believe it to be Drosera brevifolia) is teeny-tiny, about an inch across.  You could step on one -- or several -- without even realizing it. Normally I find sundews near lakes or ponds, but last week I was hiking a trail that went through some scrub and transitioned to a slightly wetter flatwood and to the side of the trail, where fewer people step, there were some tiny red sundews.

Sundews are carnivorous plants; they trap and digest insects to get nutrients they can’t find in the soil they live in.  (It’s not too surprising they’re not finding the right nutrients in the soil; I always see them in sandy areas.  Being able to use another nutrient source lets them live where another species might not be able to.)  That’s where the sundew gets its name: the drops of fluid it uses to digest bugs look like dewdrops.  They’re a bit different from other carnivorous plants.  Pitcher plants collect this fluid at the bottom of a modified leaf, and fly-traps close a leaf around an insect like a clam shell.  Sundews can flex their leaves, wrapping them around insects kind of like hands. 

Now that I think about it, it’s kind of surprising I haven’t spotted an insect on any of the sundews.  I’m going to have to take a closer look next time I’m near their habitat.  I also plan to look for their flowers in the spring.