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Drosera menziesii

D. menziesii (D. menziesii ssp. menziesii) is one of four species in the menziesii complex consisting of D. basifolia, D. drummondii, D. menziesii and D. thysanosepala. It is probably one of the most common species in culture. It is easy to grow (and to keep for years) and it produces quite reliably additional daughter tubers. Its intensely pink flowers on the maroon to red plants make this species an indeed beautiful beginner's plant!

D. menziesii is an erect growing species reaching up to 25 cm in height in my conditions and I have seen reports of plants up to 40 cm in length. Adult plants do not form a basal rosette which is typical for all menziesii complex species.
The plants are usually deep red to maroon in colour. This species produces a few long bracts at the lower part of the glabrous stem. The flowers are usually pink as typical for all menziesii complex species, but in case of D. menziesii also some orange flowered forms exist. A third flower colour is a reddish pink, which is most likely the result of a hybridization of pink and orange flowered forms.

The tubers are mostly red.
All menziesii complex species form a relatively long root when grown from seeds. It usually exceeds 1 cm in length before the first leaves open. The stolons produced in the second half of the first growing are likewise relatively long and even tiny tubers will mostly be produced 3-5 centimetre deep in the substrate.



tubers

tubers

Stolons of D. menziesii with attached tubers. All tubers are formed directly at or close to the main stolon. If you check carefully, you will find some of the fine (lateral) roots at the stolon.

Tubers of D. menziesii.

 

 

dwarf form

dwarf form

Flowering plants and flowers of a plant I obtained labelled as dwarf form. The plants are in my conditions a little smaller than typical forms, but more obviously they produce relatively few leaves. As you can see, the two flowering size plants on the left photo just have 3 or 4 sets of leaves, respectively.

 

 

orange flower

orange flower

Flowers of an orange flowered form.

 

 

redder flower

redder flower

Flowers of a form with redder flowers compared to the typical pink flowered form. These plants were grown form seeds harvested from the orange flowered form and are most likely a cross between a typical and an orange flowered D. menziesii.
Its seeds are viable and at least the flowers of the next generation I saw so far have the same colour.

 

 

redder flower

all three colours

redder flowered form

All three flower colours side by side.
Top left: typical form; right: redder flowered form; bottom: orange flowered form

 

 


 

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