Drosera capensis 'Albino'

A sundew stripped of its signature colour. 'Albino' lacks anthocyanin entirely: no red in the leaves, no red in the tentacles, just green and white. The flowers are white too, where a normal capensis blooms pink. It appeared in 1988 in the collections of R. Borret (Oxford) and N. Farrow (Suffolk), was formally registered a decade later, and has since become one of the most widely grown sundews in the world. The Royal Horticultural Society gave it an Award of Garden Merit. Often sold as 'Alba', but the registered cultivar name is 'Albino'.

D. capensis is from the Western Cape of South Africa, where it grows in marshes, stream banks, and seepages from sea level to around 1200 m. 'Albino' is a horticultural selection that breeds true from seed.

Bright green strap-shaped leaves on an upright rosette that can reach 20 cm across, developing a stem with age. The pale tentacles still produce plenty of mucilage, and the plant catches insects as effectively as any capensis. Vigorous and fast-growing, and reported to be more tolerant of warm nights than the typical form.