| Roridula gorgonias | |
|---|---|
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| photo: Tony Rebelo | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Roridulaceae |
| Genus: | Roridula |
| Species: | R. gorgonias
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| Binomial name | |
| Roridula gorgonias Planch. (1848)
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| Synonyms | |
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Roridula gorgonias is an evergreen, shyly branching, upright shrub of up to about 1 m (3 ft) high, from the family Roridulaceae. It has awl-shaped leaves with entire margins, crowded at the tip of the branches. These are set with tentacles that secrete a sticky, shiny resin from the thicker gland at their tips, that catch many airborne items. At the center of the shoots appear inflorescences between July and October that consist of up to twelve flowers in spikes, each on a short flower stalk, with a bract at its base. The 5-merous flower is about 2½ cm (1 in) in diameter and has pinkish purple or white petals. The plants do not digest the trapped insects, but the bug Pameridea roridulae sucks out their juices and the plant absorbs nutrients from the bug's droppings. It is therefore considered a protocarnivorous plant. It is called Gorgons dewstick,[1] fly bush or fly catcher bush in English and vliebos, or vlieëbossie in Afrikaans.[2] (but these names are also used for its relative R. dentata). R. gorgonias is an endemic species home to the southwest of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
- ^ "Species dictionary taxonomy: Roridula gorgonias". iSpot.
- ^ "Fly Bush". SANBI Red List of South African Plants.