Byblis gigantea

Byblis gigantea, commonly known as rainbow plant, is a species of carnivorous plant in the family Byblidaceae. It is endemic to Australia.

Description

The small perennial herb or sub-shrub has many branches and typically grows to a height of 0.45 metres (1.5 ft) in height. It is a tall leafy plant with the leaf bases closely spaced. It has deep, woody perennial rootstock that the plant is able to resprout from the rhizomes after fire. It blooms between September and January producing pink-purple and white flowers. According to Slack, the flowers only release their pollen when they sense vibrations from the wings of a pollinator. It has three nerved sepals and forms an obtuse subglobose shaped capsule with many faint nerves. The seeds have highly corrugated and ribbed sculptured plates. Seeds have a length of 0.6 to 1.5 millimetres (0.024 to 0.059 in) and a width of 0.6 to 1.0 mm (0.024 to 0.039 in) with shallow transverse ridges.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist John Lindley in 1839 as part of the work A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. The only known synonym is Byblis lindleyana as described by Jules Émile Planchon in 1848.