Sundew - Conservation Status

Conservation Status

Although none of the Drosera species in the United States is federally protected, all are listed as threatened or endangered in some states. Additionally, many of the remaining native populations lie on protected land, such as national parks or wildlife preserves. Drosera species are protected by law in many European countries, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, France, and Bulgaria. Currently, the largest threat in Europe and North America is habitat destruction for development projects, as well as the draining of bogs for agricultural uses and peat harvesting. In many regions, this has led to the extirpation of some species from parts of their former range. Reintroduction of plants into such habitats is usually difficult or impossible, as the ecological needs of certain populations is closely tied to their geographical location. Through increased legal protection of bogs and moors, as well as a concentrated effort to renaturalize such habitats, the threat to these plants' survival might be curbed, although most species would remain endangered. The relatively unimpressive image of these plants, as well as their small, low growth, makes them difficult to protect. As part of the landscape, sundews are often overlooked or not recognized at all.

In South Africa and Australia, two of the three centers of species diversity, the natural habitats of these plants are undergoing a high degree of pressure from human activities. Expanding population centers (such as Queensland, Perth, and Cape Town) threaten many such habitats, as does the draining of moist areas for agriculture and forestry in rural areas. The droughts that have been sweeping Australia over the last 10 years also pose a threat to many species by drying up previously moist areas.

Those species endemic to a very limited area are often most threatened by the collection of plants from the wild. D. madagascariensis is considered endangered in Madagascar because of the large-scale removal of plants from the wild for exportation; 10 - 200 million plants are harvested for commercial medicinal use annually.