Appearance
"Drosera spatulata" is a variable perennial plant that produces small rosettes of numerous spathulate leaves. This species is widely variable, but generally plants are about 4 cm in diameter. Each leaf is attached to the central rosette by a narrow 8 mm long petiole that is only glandular on the upper half. Individual leaf laminae are typically 5 mm long and 4 mm wide. In early summer, plants will produce 8 cm tall erect scapes with around six small white or pink flowers on each one-sided racemose inflorescence. Each flower can be up to 6 mm across.
Naming
The specific epithet is Latin for "spatula shaped," a reference to the form of the leaves.
Evolution
"Drosera spatulata" was first described by Jacques Labillardière in his 1804 publication "Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen". In 1824, "D. spatulata" was included in a publication by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, but misprinted as "Drosera spathulata", an incorrect spelling that is still common today. Since its original description, this species has been described under several other names, which have now been reduced to synonymy. Two varieties have been described and are currently recognized, the first of which was described in 2005. "Drosera spatulata" var. "gympiensis" was described in 2005 by Robert Gibson and Ivan Snyder, who cited its consistently hairy sepals with no intergradation with the typical "D. spatulata" form. In 2009 another variety, "Drosera spatulata" var. "bakoensis", was described from Bako National Park in Sarawak, Borneo.References:
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