Drosera Regia

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Drosera regia, commonly known as the king sundew, is a carnivorous plant in the sundew genus Drosera and is endemic to a single valley in South Africa. The genus name Drosera comes from the Greek word droseros, meaning "dew-covered." The specific epithet regia is derived from the Latin for "royal," a reference to the "striking appearance" of the species. Individual leaves can reach 70 cm in length. It has many unusual relict characteristics not found in most other Drosera species, including woody rhizomes, operculate pollen, and the lack of circinate vernation in scape growth. All of these factors, combined with molecular data from phylogenetic analysis, contribute to the evidence that D. regia possesses some of the most ancient characteristics within the genus. Some of these are shared with the related Venus flytrap, which suggests a close evolutionary relationship.