Dewy Pine (Drosophyllum) General Information

        Drosophyllum Lusitanicum, or Dewy Pines are an often overlooked and mistaken for their distant cousins, the Sundews. Dewy Pines are notable for their sweet honey-musk scent, growing larger, and with more impressive blooms than their more known relatives. Another major difference that Drosophyllum have from Drosera is a preference for drier soils. This fact is why Dewy Pines are seen as more difficult to grow than Sundews.

        The latin name, Drosophyllum Lusitanicum, is actually descriptive of the plant and where it grows. Drosophyllum is made up of the Greek Drosos, meaning dew or dew drops, and the Latin ending phyllum, meaning related to the leaf. Lusitanicum comes from the Latin word Lusitancius, an adjective meaning of Lusitania. Lusitania is a province of the former Roman Hispania, covering the modern areas of Southern Portugal and sections of Western Spain. Their name most literally translates to the “Dew Drop Leaves of Lusitania”.

        Dewy Pines have a relatively undocumented botanical history. They were named by Carl Linnaeus and have been understudied compared to their other carnivorous cousins. Cultivation of this plant has been sparse throughout history, usually reserved to botanical institutions and academia. Collectors have grown these plants sporadically, with only a few being documented in more recent years. It is possible that language barriers prevent me from finding more information, so if anyone knows more about their history please inform me.

        Dewy Pines grow in acidic soils, usually in clearings in heather, pine, and evergreen forests. The species is also found in sunny heaths, demonstrating the need for great amounts of light. They grow in particularly lowland areas, not usually going above 1200 meters (3,900 feet) in altitude. Unlike other carnivorous, they're not necessarily found always by water. Being tolerant to more dry conditions allows this plant to have a much wider area of viable habitat in these clearings. This is in contrast to their relatives who would be restricted to more wet areas.

        Drosophyllum grow from a rosetted base, uncurling their leaves from the center on what eventually becomes a small stem as the plant ages. Their leaves are lined with glands that secrete a resinous goop that has a faint honey smell mixed with musk. The more thick and resinous dew is much more suited to lower humidity and drier environment than other sticky trap plants. This reduces humidity loss, which allows Dewy Pines to capture prey in conditions a Sundew would struggle to survive in.

        The sticky traps are effective, but notable in that they do not move like Drosera. No curling or movement has been noted with this species. The sweet smell is thought to act a lure to unsuspecting prey that get captured when they get too close. The particularly thick and resinous mucilage kills the prey either through exhaustion or suffocation. This is doubly effective as Dewy Pines will detach their glands to cause prey to tumble into more of the resinous traps!

        Drosophyllum suffer the problem of being obscure. Being only a single species in its own genus, as well as having more popular relatives like Drosera outshining them has made their study and cultivation rather sparse. As with all carnivorous species, they face the issue of being developed over if not properly protected. The combination of being obscure and having limited protection makes them vulnerable at the time of writing this.

        Byblis are a similar genus that suffers the obscurity problem. Collecters shy away from both Dewy Pines and Rainbow Plants for the fact their germination is notoriously long and difficult to achieve. Many who try to grow Dewy Pines give up, not knowing they can take upwards of several years to germinate even with treatment! For those who are patient, thankfully cultivation is not particularly difficult as the plants grow past the seedling stage.

        To best protect Drosophyllum moving forward would require a lot of education to both Carnivorous Plant growers and to the general public. The relatively unknown status of these plants to the public conscience can lead to a situation where these plants could be paved over without much thought. If more documentaries and successful growers would focus on these plants, the situation could greatly improve over the next decade. The range the grow in is quite large comparatively to some of the more rare carnivores, so there is still a lot of hope for this species in the future.

 

Section Breakdown

        This genus is monophyletic, meaning there's only Drosophyllum Lusitanicum. It's closest relative is Triphyophyllum Peltatum and a small group of non-carnivorous plants. After that, Nepenthes and Drosera would be it's next closest related families. It's easy to see that out of these families, Drosophyllum evolved to be much more tolerant of hot and dry conditions than it's relatives. Settling squarely in ares around the Western Mediterranean Sea, it seems this genus has been content with it's small range.

 

Lifecycle

        Dewy Pines have an incredibly thick seed coat. This prevents water from readily being absorbed and allows the seeds to last long periods of time. In the wild, forest fires and bush fires would stimulate growth, similar to Byblis. Otherwise, low rates of germination and long germination times can be observed. Without a fire, few will germinate to replace the current population in the early spring as the weather starts to warm. It should be noted, the areas where Drosophyllum occurs rarely see frosts. Average temperatures are usually closer to 45-50F during the winter.

        As the plants go through their first year of growth, they'll start with an incredibly small stem. Leaf development is slower than in Sundew and the seedling phase is where this is most profound. The first year will often end with the plant being under 10 inches tall and having the potential to flower. Unless in excellent conditions, these blooms are usually not as plentiful as mature specimens. As winter approaches, the plants will slow growth and wood will form around the stem.

        The second year, or potentially the third depending on conditions, is usually when the plant will start to achieve full maturity. The stem is much more present, with older growth forming ring around the base of the plant. Divisions can start to occur at this time from the base off the stem. Flowering will be much more a spectacular event, usually with a several active blooms with several more waves on the way to replace them.