Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Sundew
Sundews are members of the genus Drosera, consisting of about 90 species of carnivorous plants. Examples of the sundew family can be found on every continent but Antarctica; they are specially abundant in South Africa and Australia. Some, such as the Pink Sundew, D. capillaris, and the Dwarf Sundew, D. brevifolia, are found on the eastern and Gulf coasts of North America. They can be found in most soil conditions, in acidic, sandy, stony, and boggy places.
The leaves of these plants have stalks with drops of a sticky substance called mucilage at the ends; insects get stuck in this substance and become entangled. The substance then digests the helpless insect. On some members of the family, the stalks on the leaf actually move and bend toward the captured insect.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details