Natural Lowcountry: Dwarf sundew brings sticky death to prey

In early spring, a tiny plant called dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia) appears on the banks of our Hilton Head Island lagoon. It seems to pop up out of nowhere, tucked in among mosses and grasses near the shoreline.

Dwarf sundew is easy to overlook - or step on - unless you know what to watch for.

The plant has fleshy green or red wedge-shaped leaves that fan out to form a flat rosette only an inch or so across. At some point, long-stemmed white or pinkish flowers may emerge from the center.

Each leaf in the rosette bears an array of projecting stalks, or “tentacles,” with rounded glands at their tips.

More glands, without stalks, are packed into the center of the leaf blade. The glands exude a thick, mucilaginous liquid that makes the plant glisten like a jewel in the sunlight.

Despite its diminutive and beguiling appearance, dwarf sundew can be lethal to tiny prey that happen to crawl or perch on it.

If a passing ant or other insect comes into contact with a leaf, it quickly becomes stuck in the viscous, dew-like secretions.

As the prey struggles, things only get worse. More and more glistening tentacles may start bending inward towards the prey.

Meanwhile, the mucilage envelops the hapless insect, blocking the microscopic breathing holes along the sides of its body. Eventually

it suffocates.

Digestive enzymes in the sticky secretions gradually break down the tissues of the prey and the nutrients are absorbed by the plant.

Like their relatives, Venus flytraps, sundews can make their own food via photosynthesis, but they obtain extra nutrients, such as nitrogen, through the capture of small invertebrates. Therefore, many species can grow in bogs and similar moist, nutrient-poor environments.

Dwarf sundew also tolerates somewhat drier or seasonally moist habitats, such as the sandy banks of our lagoon.

The species is distributed throughout much of the Southeast’s Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. There are six other kinds of sundew in North America and about 115 species worldwide. New species are being discovered every year, especially in Australia.

The roots, flowers, and capsule-like fruits of some sundews have been used medicinally for centuries, particularly for coughs and lung infections, and an alcoholic drink was once made from the leaves.

Recently, sundews have attracted the attention of nanotechnologists and researchers interested in developing new biomaterials for tissue engineering.

Because of its elastic and adhesive properties, sundew mucilage may have future applications in wound treatment and recovery from

organ replacements and transplants.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 5:38 AM with the headline "Natural Lowcountry: Dwarf sundew brings sticky death to prey."