Range: West-central Florida Panhandle

 

An extremely localized and distinctive form of the common threadleaf sundew, this plant is quite difficult to confuse with just about any other sundew on the planet. Endemic to only two known counties in the western Apalachicola drainage region of Florida, it has a preference for sandy margins of various waterways, especially the edges of ponds and sinkholes in very open shoreline. Plants are similar in size to the northern form, reaching between 15-30 cm tall with slender grass-like leaves that have very short to nearly nonexistent petioles and long lamina that taper to a fine tip. Coloration is the most distinctive trait of this form, being uniformly orange, red, or even nearly purple with similarly deep red tentacles. Inflorescences tend to be similar in height or even slightly shorter than the plants at only 7-17 cm, bearing one to nearly a dozen 1-2 cm wide flowers with obovate, pink or very rarely near-white petals. Due to the warm subtropical nature of its environment many localities of this variety have very weak dormancy requirements, dying back to hibernacula if daylength shortens enough or it gets cool enough to trigger, but they may also occasionally grow nearly continually in warmer climates. The white-flowered version appears to have a stronger dormancy requirement. This variant is distinguished from var. filiformis and D. tracyi most distinctly in its rich red color, but also tends to be an even smaller, more gracile plant with shorter overall traits.

The white-flowered, even deeper red form of this species has been described as forma albiflora by J, Ksepka; it is a stable trait but uncommon in the wild, and somewhat more difficult to maintain in cultivation as the seeds are frequently troublesome to sprout and the dormancy need is more absolute like the northern variety.

 

Cultivation: grow in a very sandy peat-based soil or even pure quartz or other neutral sand, kept moist to nearly wet though best not in waterlogged conditions for long. Maintain warm temperatures of 70-90°F; if plants develop hibernacula, allow them to experience cool to cold conditions (not hard freezing) for at least 6-8 weeks or until spring returns. Sow seeds on soil surface; most forms do not appear to need any stratification, however white-flowered plants appear to have either a hot stratification requirement or other unknown triggers and are difficult to germinate. Grow in very strong artificial light to full sun.

 

Lifespan and reproduction: perennial. Reproduces by seed and can be grown through leaf and root cuttings.

 

Sources: Lowrie et al. (2017) Drosera of the World Vol. 2

Ksepka, J. (2022). Drosera filiformis Raf. var. floridana Rice forma albiflora J.Ksepka f. nov. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter 51(2): 92-94