The Portuguese Dewy Pine (Drosophyllum lusitanicum)

This rather peculiar plant is in many respects the odd man out among
the more commonly grown carnivorous plants, in its being found
naturally in dry sandy soils.

It occurs in Southern Spain, Portugal, and Northern Morocco, and is
found around the coastal areas where it receives regular moisture from
the nightly fogs. In appearence it produces an open rosette of long,
linear leaves to about 20 centimeters in length, giving the overall
appearence of a cluster of long pine needles. These leaves are vertical
when they first open out and gradually bend down to the horizontal by
the time they brown and die off. The base of the plant is covered in
the remains of the old leaves, and forms a sort of grass skirt with the
rosette placed on the top. It is a stem forming plant, gradually
becoming too tall to support it's own weight and sometimes falling over
and growing in a prostrate manner with the crown being held upright.
The stem can grow to 1 meter in length.

There is no dorment period as such, but in cultivation growth slows
over the winter months, with the first signs of the emergence of
flowers occuring sometimes as early as January.

The flowers are a beautiful sulphur yellow and can be 2.5 centimeters
in diameter. They open for only a single day each and are self-fertile,
therefore guaranteeing the production of seed 2-3 months later. The
black pear shaped seed can be collected when the translucent seed
capsule splits.

Mature plant in cultivation

Cultivation.

This plant has an unfair reputation for being difficult to maintain for
any length of time, but it's cultivation is actually simple. Because
of the large stature of the plant and and it's dislike of unnecessary
movement, it is best grown from seed and a full grown, flowering plant
can be raised in one year.

There are different methods of cultivation, but the one I find the most
successful is the germinate the seeds in those peat-pots one can find
in the garden centre. They should be sown in a compost of equal parts
moss peat and lime free horticultural sand, and buried to a depth of
5 millimetres. It is an idea to sow one plant to a pot to avoid any
disturbance which would occur when pricking out seedlings. The seeds
should be kept wet until they have produced their third or forth leaf,
and then transplanted-complete in their peat pots-in to large 20
centimetre clay pots. Block the hole in the base of the pot with a
couple of pieces of crock. The peat pots can be buried up to their rims
in the same compost as above. The roots of the plant will then grow
through the peat pot and in to the larger clay pot.

Position the plant in full direct sun and water from above with rain
or distilled water. The compost should be allowed to dry somewhat
between waterings, and in the winter months the time between waterings
can be many weeks.

It is tolerant of a wide range of temperatures and can survive 2
degrees celcius (36 degrees fahrenheit).

Large flowering specimen