Droseros is the Greek word for ‘dewy’ and the first thing that one notices about the Drosera, or sundew plant, is the sticky stem covered in soft, downy hair and scattered with glistening little bubbles that look like dewdrops. When insects see these ‘dew-drops’ they land on the plant for a drink. As soon as they touch the stem, the insects become stuck and the plant’s downy hair curls round them like tentacles. The Drosera produces a liquid which breaks down the captured insects into food which the plant then absorbs.

The Drosera is, therefore, a carnivorous plant. It grows wild in damp places in Europe and North America and is about 20 centimeters high. One variety which occurs in Australia and South Africa reaches a height of one meter.