Plants of
South Australia
Drosera whittakeri
Droseraceae
Whittaker’s Sundew,
Scented Sundew,
Whittaker's Sundew
Display all 14 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Drosera whittakeri ssp. whittakeri

Sondera whittakeri

Common names

Whittaker’s Sundew

Scented Sundew

Whittaker's Sundew

Etymology

Drosera from the Greek 'droseros' meaning dewy, alluding to the glistening hairs of the glandular leaf laminae. Whittakeri named after Joseph Whittaker (1813-1894), an English botanist known for his plants collections from around Adelaide and South Australia.

Distribution and status

Found on Kangaroo Island, Mount Lofty, Murray and South-East regions in South Australia growing in open damp sites in forest, heath and woodland. Also found in Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in other States.
Herbarium regions: Northern Lofty, Murray, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Small herb with a vertical stolon 2-8 cm long; leaves in a flat rosette; lamina sessile spatulate, 15-35 mm long, 5-15 mm wide. Scapes 1 to many, 2-5 cm long, 1-flowered, white. Flowering all months but especially May-November. Fruits are red-brown ovoid to globose capsule to 8 mm diameter. Seeds are black angular ovoid-cylindrical seed to 1.5 mm long, with a mesh-like surface.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect mature capsules, those that are fat, hard, turning brown and contain black seeds inside. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
4,600 (1.4 g)
4,600 (1.4 g)
100+6-Oct-2005DJD136
Southern Lofty
1-Aug-2006100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
Germination table:
  Display