I really enjoy getting to see photos of Australian carnivores in the wild. It never ceases to amaze me just how similar the environments in the United States are to some of Australia's, yet we don't have the diversity of Drosera or Utricularia that Australia does. So far, I've covered six species of pygmy Drosera on this blog (
three and
three) and I've just
run across information about Drosera nitidula.
Drosera nitidula is most often compared to Drosera pulchella. Both are native to the same environments - swampy areas which are periodically flooded - but they do not grow together. Drosera pulchella prefers swamps or strong seepage areas which never dry out whereas Drosera nitidula prefers flood plains where the water slowly moves through, resulting in a completely dry environment by the Australian summer. The perennial wetness is why some growers have a lot better success with Drosera pulchella than other pygmies.
Comparably, Drosera nitidula prefers similar environments to Drosera sargentii. In cultivation, it is not a difficult plant (none of the pygmy Drosera are, in my experience), but it is important to keep in mind its natural wet/dry cycles so that you don't accidentally toss a plant which is merely dormant rather than dead.
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