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Drosophyllum lusitanicum

A fascinatingly beautiful plant from Spain, Portugal and Morocco, this is similar to a sundew in that it captures insect prey using tentacles tipped with sticky glue.

 

It is unique however, in the way unfurls its leaves with the spiral uncoiling from the outside, as opposed to the spiral emerging from the inside of the leaf, like a fern. This is known as reverse circinate vernation, and is only found in 3 related plant genera - Drosophyllum, Tripyophyllum, and Byblis - which are all carnivorous.

 

This plant is only a seedling - that unfurling leaf is only its third leaf. It's got a way to go, but they can become small shrubs at a few years old!

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Uploaded on February 21, 2022
Taken on February 21, 2022