Drosera glanduligera is a species of sundew, a group of carnivorous plants that use sticky tentacles to ensnare their prey. This is species is unique in that it has extremely fast ‘snap tentacles’ which literally fling their prey into their sticky traps.
Sundews have evolved the ability to digest insects as an adaptation to their nutrient poor habitats. Once a prey is caught in the glue-like secretions, it either dies from exhaustion or asphyxiates from being smothered in dew. The plant then secretes enzymes which break down the insect, allowing the plant to absorb its nutrients.
All species of sundew are able to move their inner tentacles to pass prey towards the center of the leaf, where digestion is most efficient. Many species are able to fold the surface of the leaf around the prey to ensure contact with a larger digestive surface.
Drosera glanduligera is the fastest moving sundew, with ‘snap tentacles’ which fold inwards within 75 milliseconds. This action is triggered when an insect makes contact with them, and are powerful enough to catapult the insect into the center of the leaf, where it becomes glued down.
Some sketches of plants from my trip to Big Bend National Park: Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), Cane Cholla (Cylindropuntia spinosior), Bicolor mustard (Nerisyrenia camporum),Emory Oak (Quercus emoryi), and Agave (Agave albomarginata)
Creating a purple waterfall of flowers is Aubrieta×cultorum, this mound-forming, compact evergreen perennial is perfect for a raised bed. There are a range of cultivars with colours from pale to deep purple. Ideal conditions are a well-drained soil in full sun but plants can tolerate light shade.
#PaeoniaCalifornica / #CaliforniaPeony. One of the weirdest-looking plants we have out here. They look prehistoric somehow. Like they’re not quite what they’re meant to be yet. It’s not just that they don’t look like the cultivated or European ones and it’s not that they look wild, it’s like… the flower never matures beyond a bud and then the seed pod looks underformed too. They also bloom so early in the year that they always surprise me. They’re just wonderful. . #paeonia #peonies #wildpeony #californiawildflowers #californianativeplants #chaparralplants #chaparral #sandiegobackcountry #sandiegowildflowers #botany (at San Diego County, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CaYuk2jrNyF/?utm_medium=tumblr
