Drosera ordensis –
is a is a perennial carnivorous plant from the petiolaris complex. It forms one or more rosettes and grows in sandy soil near sandstone outcrops where the soil remains moist near Berkeley River, Beverly Springs, Boab Springs, Cave Springs, Egret, Kununurra, Lake Argyle, Mirama, Mulligan Lagoon, Ning Bing Ranges, Ord River, Pago, Parry Lagoon, Stonewall Creek, Weaber Plains, and Wyndham in the northeastern tip of Western Australia. They can also be found around Keep River National Park and Timber Creek in the Northern Territory region.
The oblanceolate petioles are long and typically flat. They are sometimes green during the start of the beginning to the wet season, then becomes covered with a dense pelt of white hairs as the season progresses. Other ttimes, they are densly covered with white hairs from the time they’re seedlings. Both the upper and lower sides of the leaves are covered in hairs. This species can also get very tall and wide. A. Lowrie reported that he has found a giant form near Kununurra with a diameter up to 8″. I can concur with his finding as my D. ordensis ‘Kununurra, Kimberley’ (13 km West) have gotten 8″ wide and 6″ tall. It seems that all forms divide regularly to form clumps. The suborbicular lamaina can be red, orange or yellow, and sometimes almost pure green. It has glandular tentacles on the upper surface that are longer at the edges than in the center. Its lower surface is also densely covered with long white dendritic hairs.
The inflorescence can reach 18″ in height and carries many crowded flowers, from white to pink in color and with a diameter of up to 6″. Flowering occurs between December and April. The scape is covered with long, white, dendritic hairs, so are the lower surfaces of the sepals. Occasionally, at the start of the flower scape, it is possible to find clusters of juvenile plants.
(Etymology: from the alluvial valley of the Ord River
