Oblong-leaved or Spoonleaf Sundew

Oblong-leaved or Spoonleaf Sundew - Drosera intermedia

A small carnivorous plant formed of a rosette of basal leaves, from which the slender flowering stalk emerges horizontally to then curve upwards, in summer bearing small flowers with white petals.

The leaves can be distinguished by the elliptical shape of the blade supported by a long narrow stalk.

The leaves form the trap, thanks to which the plant can catch small prey (midges, mosquitoes, flies and other small invertebrates).  The upper side of the blade is densely covered with typically reddish coloured hairs, which bear a brilliant drop of sticky fluid:  the unwitting prey is attracted by this substance, is ensnared and finally trapped in the leaf which closes itself over its catch.

The Oblong-leaved Sundew is a hygrophilous plant and grows on acid peat bogs and mossy floating islands that form on the Lakes.

In Tuscany is occurs in the sphagnum bogs at Lake Sibolla, Mount Pisano and particularly in the pools at  San Lorenzo a Vaccoli; recently it has also been reported on the Cerbaie Hills.

This rare, protected species is highly susceptible to changes in the environment, it is currently falling in numbers compared with the past.