Droseraceae

Small terrestrial or aquatic, insectivorous herbs. Primary root often undeveloped, stembase with adventitious roots, sometimes tuberous. Leaves spirally arranged, often in basal rosettes, rarely whorled, provided with sessile or stipitate sticky glands, marginal glands longest, often circinate when young. Stipules mostly present. Inflorescence lateral or terminal, cymose, often circinate. Bracts absent or present. Bracteoles 0; pedicels not articulated. Flowers ♀♂, actinomorphic, (in Malaysia) 5-merous. Sepals imbricate, persistent, at the base + connate. Petals imbricate, free, thin, veined, marcescent, long persistent. Stamens (in Malaysia) 5, free, alternating with the petals; filaments filiform; anthers extrors; pollen in tetrads. Disk 0. Ovary superior, free; 1-celled; carpels 3-5 with parietal placentas. Styles 3-5, mostly free, simple or divided. Ovules mostly ~. Capsule mostly loculicid, 3—5-valved. Seeds small, mostly ~, albuminous; embryo straight; cotyledons short. Distr. Of the 4 genera three are monotypic: Drosophyllum is endemic in the West Mediterranean, Dionaea is endemic in Atlantic N. America, and Aldrovanda is found from Europe through Asia to Australia. Drosera is predominantly developed in the S. hemisphere, specially in Australia and though distributed almost over the globe, it is absent from many regions.