English sundew
MADISON -- A rare carnivorous plant last documented in Ashland County along with 59 never-before-seen populations of other rare plants in Wisconsin are among discoveries made by volunteers of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Rare Plant Monitoring Program last year.
A news release says some rare plant populations observed by volunteers last year included English sundew (Drosera anglica), an insect-eating plant seen for the first time in 40 years in Ashland County.
Kevin Doyle, a DNR Natural Heritage Conservation botanist who coordinates the program had this to say in the news release:
Wisconsin has 2,366 native plant species and 344, or 14.5% of the total, are considered rare, meaning they are listed as endangered, threatened, or special concern. Sixty trained volunteers dispatched to locations around the state last year submitted over 250 reports of rare plants they found, including 59 populations in areas of Wisconsin where they have not been documented before.