Drosera binata "Burgundy"

A red-through-and-through selection of D. binata, the only sundew in the world with forked leaves. Where the standard species tends to hold green blades studded with red tentacles, 'Burgundy' pushes the colour all the way out: under strong enough light, the whole leaf turns a deep wine red, from the base of the fork to the glandular tips. Give it less light and it reverts toward green — this is a clone that earns its name in full sun. Circulated out of France and still relatively uncommon in the trade.

The species grows across south-eastern Australia, from Queensland down through Tasmania, and on both islands of New Zealand, wherever the ground stays wet: sandy marshes, peat bogs, seepage slopes, the edges of creeks. Lowland coastal populations keep growing through mild winters, while highland forms die back to the ground and spend winter dormant.

Leaves are erect, slender, and forked once or twice into two or four sticky points, reaching 20 to 40 cm in cultivation. In full colour the rosette looks like a small cluster of wine-red antlers bristling with dew. Flowers are white, carried on tall stalks above the traps in summer. Long, rope-like roots drop deep into the substrate to tap groundwater, so give it a deep pot.