Roridula gorgonias Species Profile

Roridula gorgonias Species Profile

Roridula gorgonias is a carnivorous plant endemic to South Africa. It is commonly called a dewstick or vliebos (fly bush) in Afrikaans.

Rorodula gorgonias has rosettes of pointy leaves at the end of a long, woody stem. The leaves are not serrated and are covered with glandular tentacles of various lengths. These glands exude a very sticky resin-based glue. The flowers are pink. Larger plants may branch sparsely and can grow upwards of 1.5 meters. The plants host symbiotic Pameridea roridulae assassin bugs which roam the plants to prey on captured bugs. The droppings of the Pameridea bugs are believed to fertilise the plants.

The species grows in mountainous seepages in the coastal Kleinrivier Mountains in the Western Cape. The substrate is moist. Rorodula gorgonias is easily distinguished from R. dentata by its non-serrated leaves and preference for wet seepages (R. dentata has serrated leaves and grows in well-drained slopes).

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