Drosophyllum lusitanicum

Description

Drosophyllum lusitanicum is a perennial carnivorous plant with woody stems at the base, short, simple or rarely branched, tortuous or erect. Leaves are basal in a dense rosette, sessile, linear, sheathed, circinate, covered with sessile and pedunculated glands. The caulines are sessile, alternate, the upper bracteiform. Flowers are on top, racemiform or corymbiform and bear five 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) yellow petals. The flower calyx has five lobes and is late deciduous. The plant has ten stamens and introrsal anthers. Gynoecium has five carpels. It has five styles, simple; capitate stigma. Fruit is in a unilocular capsule, and is partially divided into five locules, with irregular dehiscence by 3-5 teeth. Seeds are pear-shaped and rough, 2.5–3.0 mm (0.098–0.118 in) in diameter. The 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) glandular leaves, which uncoil from a central rosette, lack the power of movement common to most sundews, but have the unusual characteristic of coiling 'outward' when immature (outward circinate vernation).Seed germination may be aided by scarification.