Drosera fulva –
is a perennial carnivorous plant consisting of one or many rossettes that grows in damp sandy soils above seasonal flood levels or in humid lowlands in areas that are periodically flooded. It is found growing around Finnis River Girraween, Girraween Lagoon, Howard River, Howard River Bridge, Howard Springs, Humpty Doo, Koolpinyah, and Noonamah in the southeast of Northern Territory in Australia. However, there are also collections in Port Essington in Northern Territory, Wellesley Island, Queensland, and may also be found on the Cobourg Peninsula.
The Oblanceolate petioles emerging from the center of the rosette are semi-erect or prostrate that are arranged in a compact basal rosette. They are green, yellow-reddish, and/or brownish in color with a completly hairless upper surface, while underneath is scattered with white dendritic hairs. The hairs become more dense and extend to the upper side of the petiole as the seasons begin to dry. Mature plants have rosettes that are above the ground on bulb-like arrangement, formed by the accumulation of the old leaves. The lamina is orbicular in shape, and yellowish orange to red or dark red in color. The upper surface is covered with glandular tentacles that are longer at the edge than they are in the center. The lower surface is scattered with white dendritic pubescent hairs that also becomes more dense as the seasons begin to dry.
The inflorescence reache 18″ in height and helps support 50 or more white or pink flowers, each up to 3/4″ in diameter. Flowering occurs between February and May. The scape and the lower surface of the sepals are densely covered with short white dendritic hairs. This species has the best flowers
It was first discovered and collected in 1838 and 1840 by John W. Armstrong. In 1848, it was finally described as D. fulva by Jules Émile Planchon. It wasn’t fully recognized until Allen Lawrie described it as a distinctive species. Before that, it was treated as a synonym of D. petiolaris. It is closely related to D. brevicornis and D. dilatato-petiolaris, but differs from those species in the height of its inflorescence, type of leaves in the basal rosette, and size and type of seed pods.
A natural hybrid with D. petiolaris has been discovered
(Name origin: from the Latin fulvus = yellow-reddish, referring to the colour of its leaves)
