Drosera, which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surfaces. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which the plants grow. Various species, which vary greatly in size and form, are native to every continent except Antarctica.
Charles Darwin performed much of the early research into Drosera, engaging in a long series of experiments with Drosera rotundifolia, which were the first to confirm carnivory in plants. In an 1860 letter, Darwin wrote, "...at the present moment, I care more about Drosera than the origin of all the species in the world".
Etymology
The botanical name from the Greek δρόσος drosos "dew, dewdrops" refer to the glistening drops of mucilage at the tip of the glandular trichomes that resemble drops of morning dew. The English common name "sundew" also describes this, derived from Latin ros solis meaning "dew of the sun".
Drosera was first published in Carl Linnaeus' Species Plantarum in volume I, page 281.
The Principia Botanica, published in 1787, states "Sun-dew (Drosera) derives its name from small drops of a liquor-like dew, hanging on its fringed leaves, and continuing in the hottest part of the day, exposed to the sun".
