A sundew label may contain a subspecies, variety or form after the species name. Those additions can preserve useful biological information, but they need a dated taxonomic context. Some remain accepted subdivisions; others have become species, synonyms or names interpreted differently by specialist authors.
This reference accompanies the encyclopedia's species profiles. It covers the infraspecific treatments identified during the series audit and the main name changes that affect reading the collection. It does not turn every locality, colour description or nursery abbreviation into a formal botanical rank.
What the ranks tell you
A subspecies or botanical variety is a taxonomic interpretation of variation within a species. A form is another botanical rank. A cultivar is a horticultural naming category governed separately, and a locality label records geographical provenance. None of these terms should be substituted automatically for another.
Names such as bulbosa subsp. bulbosa repeat the species epithet. These are autonyms: they identify the subdivision containing the species' nomenclatural type. The repetition is meaningful, not a typographical error. It does not imply that all plants with only the species name on their labels have been identified to that subdivision.
The infraspecific reading map
The following names appear in the checked Kew species records. The table records their treatment there; specialist differences are explained below.
| Species or hybrid entry | Subdivisions shown in the checked record | Reading route |
|---|---|---|
| D. bulbosa | subsp. bulbosa; subsp. coronata | bulbosa profile; rosette tuberous chapter |
| D. huegelii | var. huegelii; var. phillmanniana | huegelii profile; erect tuberous chapter |
| D. spatulata | var. spatulata; var. bakoensis | spatulata profile; Asian rosette chapter |
| D. tokaiensis | subsp. tokaiensis; subsp. hyugaensis | tokaiensis profile; hybrid discussion below |
| D. tomentosa | var. tomentosa; var. glabrata | tomentosa profile; Brazilian highland chapter |
| D. filiformis | var. filiformis; var. floridana | filiformis and newer floridana profiles |
| D. × californica | nothovar. californica; nothovar. arenaria listed beneath the entry | × californica and newer × arenaria profiles |
Sources: bulbosa, huegelii, spatulata, tokaiensis, tomentosa, filiformis, × californica.
The × californica page displays an inconsistent numerical heading above its listed subdivisions. This reference transcribes the named entries rather than treating that heading as a reliable count. A database presentation issue should remain distinct from a botanical conclusion.
Bulbosa: coronata and the former major treatment
The bulbosa profile discusses subsp. coronata under the published treatment and compares it with the typical subspecies. Keep a determination to subspecies separate from an unqualified species label; a plant called bulbosa has not necessarily been examined for the relevant distinctions.
The older name bulbosa subsp. major is treated by Kew as a synonym of the species D. major. Its coverage therefore belongs in the separate major profile, not in the count of currently accepted bulbosa subspecies. Synonym record
This is a useful pattern for reading the rest of the encyclopedia: a change in rank can move a plant to a separate profile without creating a newly discovered biological entity.
Huegelii: the compact mountain variety
Utz and Gibson's huegelii var. phillmanniana is distinguished by consistently short flowering stems, reaching about 12 cm. The description concerns a compact Stirling Range plant, rather than an arbitrary juvenile of the larger variety. Original description
Kew accepts the variety. Variety record
The practical identification lesson is to compare flowering adult plants. A small plant without evidence of maturity is not enough to establish a dwarf taxon. Read the full huegelii entry for the tuberous life cycle; a difference in stature does not by itself define a new watering programme.
Spatulata: bakoensis and gympiensis
Fleischmann and Lee described var. bakoensis from Sarawak in 2009. Their account records small rosettes, short inflorescences usually carrying few pale-pink flowers, and a combination of leaf, stipule and hair characters. The plants occurred in consistently wet sandy seepage habitat on the Bako sandstone plateau. The authors observed the distinctive characters retained in cultivation, supporting their interpretation that the small stature was not simply environmental stunting. Original description
Those details distinguish a formal variety from a nursery plant labelled only “Borneo”. A broad island name does not establish that a plant came from the described population or matches the diagnosis.
The name var. gympiensis remains useful when searching older Australian material and its original description. Kew currently places it in synonymy under var. spatulata. Keep the historical name searchable, but do not count it as a third accepted variety under that treatment. Kew synonym record
Tokaiensis and the hyugaensis interpretation
Kew lists subsp. hyugaensis under tokaiensis. Seno's original 2003 account described a sterile hybrid between rotundifolia and spatulata, with 30 chromosomes and intermediate leaf and scape characters. Original study abstract
Kagawa's 2023 review instead uses D. × hyugaensis for that primary hybrid, explaining why placing it as a subdivision of the stabilised tokaiensis can obscure its relationship. This encyclopedia records both treatments rather than treating the two names as unrelated additions to the flora. Specialist review
That distinction matters to propagation. A fertile tokaiensis accession and a sterile primary hybrid should not receive the same expectation of seed production simply because a database groups their names together. Keep the treatment, parentage and observed reproduction attached to the accession.
Tomentosa varieties
Kew retains var. tomentosa and var. glabrata, and records the older montana var. tomentosa under the species' synonymy. The individual tomentosa profile supplies the comparison and growing context. Species and variety treatment
An old montana label deserves particular care because the historical complex has been revised. Preserve the original wording and seek identifying evidence rather than assuming every plant once sold under that broad name belongs to the same modern species or variety.
Florida names and the white-flowered form
The separate floridana and × arenaria profiles explain the 2026 changes to names still appearing at varietal or nothovarietal rank in the checked baseline. Read those profiles together with the dated original labels.
Ksepka's white-flowered f. albiflora was published under filiformis var. floridana. The species profile discusses its stable white flowers and intensely coloured vegetative parts. Preserve the published form combination in citations; a new species treatment does not authorise a nursery to invent a replacement botanical combination.
Applying the map to a collection
For each uncertain label, retain three things separately: the wording received, the current determination and the source supporting the change. This allows another reader to reconstruct what happened without assuming that an old name was carelessly applied.
Do not infer a formal variety from size, colour or locality alone. Compare the complete description at the correct stage of growth. Where identifying evidence is absent, a species-level label with a preserved historical note is more informative than unsupported precision.
The map is dated. It records checked treatments and explicit disagreements, while the species profiles remain the main homes for practical care. This keeps changing nomenclature visible without multiplying duplicate articles for every synonym.
Nano Nursery Drosera Encyclopedia — supplementary reference. Read with Chapters 02 and 28 and the relevant species profiles. Checked 23 September 2026. Unpublished text draft pending final editorial review.
