Lance-leaved Sundew (Drosera adelae) is a species of carnivorous plant in the family Droseraceae, native to Rockingham Bay, Hinchinbrook Island in Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Adelaide sundew, Sundew, and Lance-leaf sundew. Lance-leaved sundew is a tropical perennial plant typically grows in the northeastern Australian rainforests, on wet rocks near waterfalls or in sandy soils along creek banks. It also grows in damp, boggy sites with dappled or filtered light.
Lance-leaved sundew has long, sword-shaped or lance-shaped leaves in basal rosette, with a short stem and fibrous roots, forming mats. The leaves are crowded, narrowly lanceolate, 10-25 cm long and 7-10mm wide, on short petiole, glandular above and on the margins but glabrous below. The surface of the leaves are covered with dewy tentacles with reddish mucilagenous glands. These sticky, stalked tentacles capture small insects, and even turn and fold toward prey to further disable insects. The prey gets more tangled as the sticky digestive enzymes on the leaves fold over to further entrap prey. The more insects the plant captures, the larger the leaves will become, and the more seeds will be produced. In June to November, 10-20 red, reddish orange, pink or cream-colored flowers are produced in one-sided raceme, up to 35 cm long. The five petals, about 3mm across, form a perfectly shaped pentagon.
Lance-leaved sundew is ideal for the terrarium or sunny windowsill, and needs high humidity. It grows well potted in long-fibered sphagnum moss, very moist to slightly moist media, and high humidity. If the plant is pale green, give more light. Lower light intensity tends to encourage increased leaf elongations, and the leaves will turn bright red in bright conditions. Healthy plant should have some red on the tentacles. Taller pots helps in growing larger Lance-leaved sundew. Avoid using clear pots, since the roots frequently develop new plantlets whenever they are exposed to light. The plant tends to develop more horizontal roots if it is grown in a shallower pot, and may devote more energy towards propagating than to increase the size of its leaves.
Lance-leaved sundew propagates by generating new plantlets from the spreading roots, thus this plant is usually found in large clumps. As the plant matures, it may be necessary to separate offsets to reduce crowding. Lance-leaves sundew also drops seeds at the end of the growing season, which will sprout during the next spring season. The seed capsules are 4 mm long, and the sub-globose seeds are pitted and black when mature.
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Denis Barthel
