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Drosera indica Linn. [family DROSERACEAE]

Date Updated: 30 April 2005

Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Burkill, H.M. 1985. The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol 1
Names
Drosera indica Linn. [family DROSERACEAE]
Common names
English sun-dew, dew plant French piège à papillon (butterfly trap, Berhaut).
Uses
plant Medicines: generally healing plant Medicines: tumours, cancers plant Phytochemistry: tannins, astringents plant Phytochemistry: hydrogen cyanide Agri-horticulture: indicators (soil, water)
Description
A caulescent annual to 50 cm long, fairly widespread in West Africa from Senegal to N Nigeria in boggy sites, and is recorded from tropical Africa, Asia and Australia. It is an indicator of acid soil.All Drosera spp. are bitter and caustic to taste. Cattle do not graze them and in some hydrocyanic acid has been detected (1). D. indica is commonly used in Indian medicine as a powerful rubefacient (4, 5) and a macerate is applied topically on corns and warts in Indochina (2, 3).As one would expect of an insectivorous plant, proteolytic enzymes have been found in leaf-extract (6).
References
References:1. Burkill, 1935: 861. 2. Hartwell, 1967: 106. 3. Sastri, 1952: 218. 4. Usher, 1974: 218. 5. Uphof, 1968: 186. 6. Quisumbing, 1951: 349, with references.
Contributor
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Drosera indica Linn. [family DROSERACEAE]
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