Tracy’s Dewthreads (Drosera tracyi) honors botanist Samuel Mills Tracy (1847–1920). Found in pitcherplant savannas of the southeastern United States, this carnivorous plant captures prey with sticky leaves which unroll like fern fiddleheads. Drosera which means dewy and the common name both describe the sticky glands on the leaves that glisten like dew in the sun. High above the leaves are pink flowers that face east toward the rising sun and close by 2:00 p.m. As the loose spiral of flowers unrolls, one new flower at the top of the stalk blooms each day. The next day, it is replaced by the next flower in the spiral that is now at the top of the stalk. The process is repeated until all flowers bloom.
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