Drosera spatulata

Spoon-leaved Sundew, Spoonleaf Sundew, Rosy Sundew

A tiny but tenacious carnivorous plant native to open, sunlit bogs across East Asia and Australasia — from the mountains of southern China and Japan through the Philippines and New Guinea all the way to New Zealand. Its compact rosette of spoon-shaped leaves is armed with reddish, glandular tentacles tipped with glittering sticky mucilage that lures and traps small insects, compensating for the nutrient-poor, waterlogged soils it naturally grows in. In bright light the whole rosette can flush deep scarlet, making it one of the most visually striking miniature carnivorous plants available. It does best sitting in a shallow tray of distilled or rainwater in full light — tap water minerals accumulate quickly and will weaken or kill it over time.