Sundew: self-sown plants

Spontaneous seed production occurs naturally, carried out by the plant itself as part of its life cycle. It flowers, either self-pollinates or is pollinated, and then produces seeds which fall onto the substrate and germinate when all the conditions necessary for germination are met.

Among carnivorous plants, Droseras are the champions in this respect. We have observed this phenomenon in our pots of Drosera spatulata var. lovellae, in particular.

You can clearly distinguish the parent plants (around 5 cm) from their seedlings (around 2 to 3 mm), which emerged this summer following the spring flowering! In three years’ time, they will be fully grown.

In our greenhouses, we sometimes find adult Droseras that have grown right on the water-absorbent mat itself!