Drosera sp.

A species that does not officially exist yet. On the cloud-wrapped peaks of Lantau Island, Hong Kong's largest island, two sundews meet: D. oblanceolata, China's only endemic sundew restricted to mountaintops above 700 m, and the cosmopolitan D. spatulata, which creeps up from the lowland seepages below. Where their ranges overlap, they hybridise extensively. But this is not simply a hybrid. The resulting plant is a stabilised allopolyploid that breeds true from seed and has become dominant over both parents in parts of the mountain. It parallels how D. tokaiensis arose from D. spatulata x D. rotundifolia in Japan. It awaits formal description.

The habitat is montane grassland on the upper slopes of Lantau, around Sunset Peak (869 m, Hong Kong's second highest point). Short silvergrass, scattered shrubs, rocky outcrops, and frequent cloud cover. The plants grow in exposed seepages and on trail edges where the grass is sparse, in clayish or peaty soil kept moist by rain and fog.

Compact rosettes of 4-6 cm with thick, paddle-shaped leaves intermediate between the two parents. Olive green to deep wine red in good light, with notably large, sparkling dew drops. Flowers are pink and self-pollinating.