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Nuytsia 11(3):347-351(1997) 347 Droseraparadoxa (Droseraceae), a newspeciesfrom northernAustralia AllenLowrie 6 Glenn Place, Duncraig, Western Australia 6023 Abstract Lowrie,A. Droseraparadoxa(Droseraceae),anewspecies fromnorthernAustralia. Nuytsia 11 (3):347-351 (1997). Thenewspecies D.paradoxa Lowrieis describedand illustrated. Itoccursin tropical northernAustraliaand belongs inDrosera sect. Lasiocephala Planchon. Introduction AnewspeciesofcarnivorousplantfromtheKimberleyregionofWesternAustraliaandtheNorthem Territoryisdescribedandillustrated. ItisamemberofDrosera subgen.Drosera, sect.Lasiocephala Planchon(Droseraceae)andbringsthetotalnumberofnamedspeciesinthesectionto14. Lowrie(1996) gives akeytotheother 13 speciescurrentlyrecognizedinthissectionof Drosera L. Taxonomy AdditiontokeytosectionLasiocephala An additionalcoupletneedstobeaddedtotheendof thekey to section Lasiocephala (Lowrie 1996)toaccommodate thenewspecies. 12 Inflorescence(includingscape)glabrous D. broomensis 12 Inflorescence(includingscape)coveredwithwoollyhairs 13 13 Plants withclump-formingperennialstockgivingrisetooneormore mm leafyrosettes;petiole0.4-0.8 wideinthecentre D.petiolaris 13 Plantswithperennial,erect, woodystem upto30cmtall witha solitaryterminalleafyrosette;petiole0.2-0.4wideinthecentre D.paradoxa DroseraparadoxaA.Lowrie,sp.nov. mm Droseraepetiolarisaffinissedpetiolisincentra0.2-0.4 latis,rosullisfoliaceissolitariis,foliis veteribusinfrarosellamcaducis;caulibuserectissolideestetiaminplantisjuvenilibus;cauleinplantis maturissimis erecto ad 30 cm alto crasso lignaceo, foliis veteribus desunt, inflorescentia congesta, floribus50-70velultra. 348 Nuytsia Vol. 11, No. 3 (1997) Typus: WrenCreek,onroadtoPantijanfromPeterLacy’scamponatributaryofBachstenCreek,Western Australia, 16°01’ 32”S, 125° 14’ 55.7”E, 1 August 1996,^4. Lowrie 1514(holo: PERTH04680502; iso: MEL). A mfimbrous-rootedperennialherb; stem woody, erect, short at first butwith age up to 30 cm tall c. 1.5 diarn., withaterminal active solitary leafyrosette,the leavesbelowtheterminal rosette caducous; indumentumofwhitehairs,whichare minutelyspurredalongtheirlength,presenton the petioles, lamina abaxialsurface, inflorescence,scapeandsepalsinvaryingdensities. Leaves ofthe rosettevaryingfromerect(newinnerones)tohorizontal(olderouterones);petiolelinear, commonly mm mm mm 20-35 longatflowering, 0.4-0.6 widenear base,0.2-0.4 wideinthecentre,narrowedto 0.1-0.15mmwideatthebaseofthelamina,sparselyhairy;laminasub-orbicular,2.5-3mmwide,2-3mm long, adaxial surface with insectcatching glandspositionedaroundthemarginsand smallerglands within, abaxial surfacesparselyhairy.Inflorescences 1-5arisingfromand/orbelowthe leafyrosette (oftenrust-coloured), 20-40cmlong(includingscape),denselyhairy racemecrowded,with50-70or moreflowers; pedicels0.5-1.5 mm long, pendulous in fruit.Sepals ;elliptic,oblongoroblanceolate, mm 2-3.5mmlong, 0.8-1 wide,abaxialsurfacehairy.Peto/xpink orwhite,withorwithoutaredcentre, orcerise,obovate,4-12mmlong,2.7-l1 mmwide.Y/awem2-3mmlong.Ovaryobovoid,c.0.5mmlong, c. 0.7mmdiam.atanthesis,carpels3. Styles 3,c. 1.1 mm long(includingstigmas), dividedintomany branching segments in the upperportion, with each segmentterminating in a clavate stigma. Fruit obovoid 0.7-0.8mmlong,0.7-0.8mntdiam.,containingc. 15seeds. Seeds black,ellipsoid, reticulate, mm mm 0.3-0.35 long,c.0.2 diam.(Figure1) Otherspecimensexamined. NORTHERNTERRITORY: DeafAdderGorge, Kakadu,24 Feb. 1977, R.E.Fox2566(DNA);3kmSEofJimJimFalls,ArnhemLand,24Mar. 1984,0.L.Jones 1519(DNA); WaterfallCreek,Kakadu,4Aug. 1993,F.Rivadavia236(PERTH). WESTERNAUSTRALIA: 62kmNofBeverleySpringshomestead,22Dec. 1992, R. L. Barrett 412 (PERTH);BachstenCreekcamp,30kmEofPantijan,WKimberley,July1994, M.Hancock 19(PERTH); KingEdwardRivercrossingonroadtoMitchellPlateau,24June 1994, A. Lowrie 993(DNA,MEL, PERTH);Ngoollalah Creekcrossingon Kalumbururoad 12 kmN ofturnofftoKing EdwardRiver, 26June1994,d,Lowrie 1005,29Sep.1995,A.Lowrie1344(DNA,MEL,PERTH);GarlcarinanguiCreek onroadtoPagoMission,26June1994,A.Lowrie 1015(DNA.MEL,PERTH);UnamonCreekonroad toPagoMission,26June1994,ALowrie 1023(DNA,MEL,PERTH);PagoMissionruins,26June1994, A.Lowrie 1024(DNA,MEL,PERTH);headwatersoftheHannRiver,MtElizabeth,14June1995,A.Lowrie 1304(DNA,MEL,PERTH); Creekcrossingat16°3’46”S, 125°23’38”E,onroadtoBeverleySprings from Bachsten Creek,2 Aug. 1996,A. Lowrie 1523 (DNA, MEL, PERTH); firstcreekcrossingNof HoneymoonBeachturnoffonKalumburu-Pagoroad,4July1997,d.Lowrie 1769&1770(DNA,MEL, PERTH);NosedaCreek,EendofNapierBroomeBay,28 Mar. 1993,A. A. Mitchell 2971 (PERTH, BROOME). Distribution. Droseraparadoxa iswidelydistributedfromthewestandnorthcoastsoftheKimberley inlandtoBeverleySpringsinWesternAustralia andeastwardsto ArnhemLandand KakaduNational ParkintheNorthernTerritory. Habitat. Droseraparadoxa grows in skeletal sandy soils oversandstone pavementon the banks as wellas in thebedsofseasonallydrycreeks;inthecracksofsandstonepavementsaswellas amongst sandstoneboulders. ThehabitatsofD.paradoxa arecommonlycoveredwith aconsiderabledepth offast-flowingwaterinMarch-April during thewetseason. Allen Lowrie, Droseraparadoxa, a new species from northern Australia 349 DFSciag-luheraeibra1fr.souD=nrdo1soenmrmpa.etpioaDlrerasa,dwoanxbaafxiraolAmlAa-.mhiLanobawirtsuireoffa1cye5,1o4us.ncagpeplaanndt;seBpal-s,heanbliatrgoefd;plEan-tsempaaln;yFs-epaestoanl;s’Gol-d;gyCnoe-cilueamf'; 350 Nuytsia Vol. 11, No. 3 (1997) FloweringPeriod. July-September(duringthe dryseason). Conservationstatus. Droseraparadoxa isa commonspeciesin WesternAustraliaandthe Northern Territoryandiscurrentlynotunderthreat. Etymology. Theepithet,paradoxa fromtheGreek-paradoxes,referstothis speciescomplicated and secretivegrowthcyclewhichwasonlyrevealed afterextensivestudiesonmanyoccasionsinthefield, oftenunderdifficult,dangerousanduncomfortablecircumstancesinboththewetanddryseasons from 1993-1997. Affinities. The closest relative to Droseraparadoxa appears to be D. petiolaris R. Br. whose distinguishing characters aregiven in parenthesis. D. paradoxais distinguished byhaving an erect woodystemupto30cmtallwithasolitaryterminalleafyrosette(clump-formingperennialstockgiving mm risetooneormoreleafyrosettes)bearing leaveswithextremelynarrowpetioles0.2-0.4 wideinthe mm centre (0.4-0.8 wide in the centre); old leavesbelow the terminal rosette soon caducous (basal portions of spent leaves persisting); and inflorescence 50-70-flowered or more, crowded, up to 40cmlongincludingthescape(inflorescence10-25-flowered,notcrowded,upto20cmlongincluding the scape). Notes. TheearlyfieldobservationsofDroseraparadoxa presentedaparadox. D.paradoxaappeared tobeanannualafterseedlingpopulationswereobservedatanumberoflocations wherematureplants hadoccurred thepreviousseason; habitatswerefoundwhereonlyverytallwoody-stemmedflowering specimenswerepresent;and atotherlocationsrosettedplantswithoutwoodystemsoccurred. Itwas onlyaftermanyfieldobservationsthatthesevariousformsofD.paradoxawereshowntobeonlystages ofitsperennialgrowthcycle. Inanexceptionallygood wetseasonthehabitats ofDroseraparadoxa canbe scouredfreeofmost vegetation. I observedthe results ofan eventsuch asthisatthe King Edward Rivercrossing in the KimberleyregionfinJuly1997. AtthislocationtheentirepopulationofD.paradoxa (A. Lowrie 993) whichIhadstudiedeachyearbetween1994-1996hadbeenwashedawaybyfloodwaters. Observations however, showedthattherenewal ofthispopulationhadalreadybegun withthe discoveryofmany D.paradoxaseedlingsl-2cmindiam.onthebaresoiloftheriver’sfloodwaymargins. Clearlyitisonly specimenssecurelyanchored tothesoil againsttheravagesoffastflowingfloodwatersovermany wet seasons thatproduce tall erectwoody stems. Apossiblenewspecieswithan erectgrowthhabitsimilartothatofDroseraparadoxa hasrecently beendiscoveredinaremoteregionoftheKimberley. ThisnewtaxondiffersfromD.paradoxabyonly attainingaheightofc.5cm,itsfewer,shorterleavesanditsmetalic-orangeflowers. Furtherexamination ofthistaxon inthefieldaswellascultivationisneededtodeterminewhetheritwarrantsspecificstatus. Acknowledgements IwishtothankPaulSimmons,DenzelMurfet,FernandoRivadavia,MaryHancock,AndrewMitchell, RussellBarrettandMatthewBarrett forobtainingselectedmaterialofvarioustaxawithintheDrosera petiolariscomplex;theleadersofthe1993,1994,1995,1996and1997fTYDSCO/TsExpeditionstocollect materialofDroseraparadoxa intheKimberley,andtotheexpeditionmembersfortheirassistanceand Allen Lowrie, Droseraparadoxa, a new species from northern Australia 351 companionship inthefield; Paul Wilson forhisassistancewiththeLatindiagnosis;BarbaraRyefor hercomments andthestaffattheWesternAustralian Herbarium. References Lowrie, A. (1996). New species in Drosera section Lasiocephala (Droseraceae) from tropical northern Australia. Nuytsia 11: 55-69.