Drosera aliciae offers a different view of sundew life from the long-leaved Cape sundew. Its overlapping leaves form a compact rosette close to the surface, often with a bright fringe of tentacles. As the plant ages, the living crown can rise above retained older leaves. That changing architecture is part of the species' character and helps explain both its appeal and its maintenance needs.
Name, origin and habit
The accepted name used here is Drosera aliciae Raym.-Hamet, published in 1905. Kew records it as a perennial native to South Africa's Cape region and places D. curviscapa in synonymy. A historical label bearing that second name should be preserved in the accession record even when the current identification is updated. Kew taxonomy and synonym.
| Feature | Quick reference |
|---|---|
| Habit | Compact basal rosette; older plants can form a mound |
| Leaves | Closely packed, broadening towards their outer ends |
| Flowers | Pink to purple flowers on a raised stalk |
| Practical group | Subtropical southern African rosette sundews |
| Routine care | Bright conditions, suitable moisture and low-nutrient medium |
| Main identification caution | Several other African sundews make superficially similar rosettes |
SANBI describes wedge- to spoon-shaped leaves, up to about 25 mm long and 7 mm wide, and a flower stalk that first extends outward before curving upwards. Its account connects that curved stalk with the common name “shepherd's crook sundew”. Old leaves are retained below the living crown. These features are more informative than redness alone. PlantZAfrica description.
Looking closely at a rosette
View the plant from both above and the side. From above, note the width and outline of mature leaves, how they overlap, and whether the transition from base to blade is gradual. From the side, look for the height of the living crown above the old foliage. A tightly packed young plant and a mature mound can look surprisingly different while belonging to the same species.
Do not identify every flat African rosette as D. aliciae. Stipules at the leaf bases, the undersides of leaves, flower parts and seeds can provide useful distinctions. Many of those characters are difficult to see in a casual photograph. If an identification matters for breeding or distribution, record the source and compare a complete plant with an appropriate botanical treatment.
The most useful comparison in a growing collection is often with another correctly identified accession at a similar stage. Comparing a tiny seedling with a fully mature plant encourages false conclusions about size and habit. Equally, comparing a shaded plant with a sun-grown one can make ordinary environmental variation look like a taxonomic difference.
A small plant with an active leaf surface
Each functional leaf is both photosynthetic tissue and a trap. The sticky glands retain small prey, while the plant continues to depend on light for energy. The low rosette brings much of its trapping surface close to the medium, where splash, encroaching moss and debris can interfere with observation and care.
Keep the growing point visible when potting. Burying the centre under fresh medium makes it harder to detect problems and can damage emerging leaves. Allow room around the plant rather than pressing several crowns together for an immediately full-looking pot. A little space makes later growth, seed collection and inspection easier.
If surrounding moss grows faster than the sundew, trim or manage it carefully. The aim is to retain a suitable root environment without allowing neighbouring growth to cover the active rosette. Avoid tugging a mat of moss through the plant's roots.
Growing guide
- Light: Provide bright light and acclimatise to stronger exposure. Compact new growth is a more useful guide than chasing the reddest possible colour.
- Water: Keep the root medium reliably moist with low-mineral water. Check a shallow pot frequently during hot or windy weather.
- Soil: Use an unfertilised carnivorous-plant mix that stays moist without becoming a dense, degraded mass.
- Feeding: Match prey to the small leaf size. A few healthy traps receiving modest food is preferable to covering the whole rosette.
- Seasonal care: Treat the plant as a subtropical perennial; do not impose the dry summer rest used for certain other South African species.
- Maintenance: Keep the crown exposed, remove loose dead material carefully and control volunteer seedlings before labels become ambiguous.
The Royal Horticultural Society provides a separate cultivated account for this species. Its horticultural guidance is useful alongside, rather than as a replacement for, botanical identification. Conditions in an Australian growing space still need to be checked directly. RHS species account.
Propagation and keeping a line true
For seed propagation, collect from a known parent into a labelled container. A seed batch records parentage, not a guarantee that every offspring will be identical. Raise seedlings separately from unrelated sundews so that later volunteers cannot quietly replace the intended plant.
Suitable leaf cuttings can preserve an individual vegetatively. Use a healthy active leaf and a clean, stable propagation environment. Do not strip a small or declining rosette for material. The shared ICPS leaf-cutting method is a starting point; survival after transfer is the real measure of success.
An apparently multi-crowned plant should be examined before division. Separate growing points do not always have equally developed roots. Waiting for an offset to establish is often less disruptive than dividing simply because the pot looks crowded. Keep the original parent accession attached to each vegetative descendant.
Interpreting decline
Reduced dew after a move is not sufficient evidence that the plant needs permanently sealed conditions. Inspect the new leaves, actual light, water supply and temperature. A sealed container can reduce drying but may introduce a different problem if it overheats.
When old leaves brown beneath a healthy centre, observe the rate and pattern before intervening. When the centre itself stalls, deforms or softens, look for a cause affecting active growth. Repeatedly repotting or changing several conditions at once can obscure the original problem.
SANBI lists D. aliciae as Least Concern in its South African assessment. That status concerns wild populations in the assessment's context; it does not mean habitat can be disregarded or wild collection is needed for cultivation. Established propagated material is the appropriate foundation for a collection. SANBI Red List assessment.
Nano Nursery Drosera Encyclopedia — species profile. Related core chapters: 5, 6 and 29. Reviewed 22 September 2026. Care here concerns established plants, not a sealed tissue-culture cup.
