Nomenclature: Drosera alba E.Phillips

Publication: Phillips, E. P. (1913). Descriptions of new plants from the Gift Berg, collected by the Percy Sladen Memorial Expedition. Annals of the South African Museum, 9(3), 104–106. Link

Description: Acaulescent herb. Geophyte. Emerging from dormancy as a sessile rosette of oblong to spatulate leaves before transitioning to semi-erect to erect linear leaves. Inflorescence emerging erect and densely glandular, bearing 1-4 pink or white flowers on long pedicels.

Distribution in South Africa: WC, NC

Habitat: In sandstone fynbos on Gifberg, the Bokkeveld Plateau, and in the Cederberg. Seasonal seepages and bordering ephemeral pools, often in thin layers of substrate overlying sandstone. 

Phenology & Ecology: This species is a geophyte and dies down to a thick, fleshy root. Emerges from dormancy as early as May with the arrival of cooler weather and winter rains. Blooms as early as August and peaking in September before entering dormancy as the seasonal seepages dry out. Few seeds are produced. Reproduction is primarily asexual and this species forms huge clonal colonies- this might reduce the frequency of cross-pollination which is required for seed production. 

Conservation: Small populations within the CapeNature-managed Cederberg Wilderness Area. Larger populations occur on Gifberg where it is most frequently observed and these populations (along with the populations on the Bokkeveld Plateau) are all on private property. Climate change may threaten this species-  periods of drought have sometimes caused the seasonal seepages to dry out before seed can be produced, and plants may not be able to survive dormancy during extended dry periods. 

Taxonomy & Variation: No phenotypic variation has been observed between populations, but pink and white-flowered plants occur together within the same populations. On the Bokkeveld Plateau it occasionally hybridizes with an undescribed and closely-related species (D. sp. "Nieuwoudtville"). 

Identification: In flower, D. alba can easily be differentiated from D. trinervia in having bright yellow pollen (white to pale yellow in D. trinervia) and a period of growth with semi-erect to erect linear leaves (always a sessile rosette in D. trinervia). Early in the season when these characters aren't present, D. alba can be differentiated from D. trinervia in having abaxial (undersides) of leaves that are smooth and glandular. The leaf abaxial of D. trinervia has multiple ridges or "nerves" after which it is named, as well as numerous pilose hairs. These hairs are not present across the entirety of its distribution but are present where it occurs with D. alba. The abundance of these hairs also varies with moisture levels and when D. trinervia is growing especially wet they may be reduced or absent, so it's best to use a combination of characters to identify these species.