sundew, any plant of the genus Drosera, family Droseraceae
(order Nepenthales), which contains four genera (Aldrovanda,
Dionaea, Drosera, and Drosophyllum) and about 100 annual and
perennial species of flowering plants notable for their ability
to trap insects. They are widely distributed in tropical and
temperate regions. One of the best-known sundews is the
Venus’s-flytrap (q.v.). The name sundew is most commonly applied
to members of the genus Drosera, which is  Drosera species,
distributed worldwide but most   abundantly in Australia,  but
the term sundew also applies to all Droseraceae. (See also
Nepenthales.)  Drosera species, which occur for the most part in
wet, boggy places with a sandy acid soil, ; they are
predominantly perennials. The small, nodding, five-petaled white
or pinkish flowers are borne on one side of a curving stem, 10
to 25 cm (4 to 10 inches) tall, which rises from a rosette of
usually basal leaves. The roundish, often reddish-stalked basal
leaves, less than 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diamet