Drosera peltata in Western Melbourne

[strath76]

I had a bit of spare time the other day and thought I would head off to the You Yangs regional Park just to the west of Melbourne. I didn't have a lot of time and thought I would have a walk around a lower section of the park and see if any of the seasonal CP's had emerged from dormancy.

I was pleasantly surprised to find several clearings with large populations of what I believe to be D. peltata. The plants are still very immature and are only just beginning to produce the erect shoots. The plants are still about a month of looking their best. Hope you enjoy the photo's.

D. peltata rosette







You Yangs habitat shot.

[shawnintland]

Great shots, Strath! Thanks. Cool to see the habitat as well. I've only ever seen pictures of people's home grown plants before. I imagine a lot of people would walk along gazing into the distance, never noticing these cool little plants at their feet!

[plantlover]

Cute droseras.

[jk]

Thanks for the photos. It's always educational to see plants in situ. I am curious to know why the last photo, a wide shot, seems to show an area that is fairly dry based on the way the trees/shrubs are growing (though I could be wrong), but the previous closeups show conditions that look damp/moist due to the moss. I hope you post photos a month from now of the D. peltata in the same area.

[strath76]

Thanks Shawn.

Most people wouldn't notice the plants. I was looking for them and still almost stood on them. In a month or so they will be a little easier to see as the erect stems mature and they begin to flower. I will try to get back to take some follow up shots then.

JK, the tuberous Drosera grow through the wetter winter period. Both shots are from the same area. I was at this site in the afternoon after a couple fo days of rain. This would be the reason why the soil looks so wet. The soil is quite sandy. At the end of the season the soil will dry up considerably and the moss will also dry up. Through the summer the soil will be baked with temperatures reaching above 40 degrees Celcius.

The tuberous Drosera require this dry soil through the dormancy (summer) period so that the tubers do not rot away. If I took a photo through this period the soil would be dry with a crust on the soil. This is often refered to as a biotic crust. When the rains come the moss comes back to life and greens up quickly.