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Indian Sundew

Drosera indica

Indian Sundew
Photo: J.M.Garg, CC BY-SA 4.0
Family
Droseraceae (Sundew family)
Grows as
Shrub
Native range
Trop. & S. Africa, Madagascar, Trop. & Subtrop. Asia
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Drosera indica, sometimes known as the Indian sundew, is a species of sundew native to tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar and tropical and subtropical Asia. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753. Until the early 21st century it was mostly considered a highly variable species with a wide distribution including Australia, but since 2000 several distinct species have been separated from D. indica within Drosera section Arachnopus, which is often referred to as the ‘Drosera indica complex’. Many of these species are endemic to Australia, but D. indica itself is now widely considered to be absent from that country.

Uses

Drosera indica contains several chemicals that have been studied for potential pharmaceutical applications, such as plumbagin and flavonoids including quercetin. European countries import D. indica and D. burmanii from Asia to prepare an Ayurvedic product called "Herba Drosera" thereby protecting their native D. rotundifolia from large-scale collection. Collection of D. indica for this purpose is likely a major threat to the species in countries like India where states like Andhra Pradesh have listed the species as vulnerable and likely endangered in the state.

Other Drosera plants

Scented Sundew · Drosera acaulis · Drosera adelae · Peninsula Sundew · Slender Leaved Sundew · White Sundew · Drosera albonotata · Australian sundew · Pygmy Sundew · Drosera amazonica · Drosera andersoniana · Drosera androsacea

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Drosera indica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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