The Natural Hybrid between Drosera intermedia and Drosera rotundifolia in Massachusetts

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The natural hybrid between Drosera intermedia and D. rotundifolia, now known as D. ×eloisiana (formerly D. ×belezeana), was discovered in Wendell, Franklin County, Massachusetts, in July 2015. Measurements of leaf blade length and width, along with characteristics such as petiole pubescence, anther color, and seed characteristics, confirm these plants as hybrids and form the basis for a key to differentiate between the hybrid and its parent taxa. Discovery of a misfiled herbarium specimen at MASS revealed that this hybrid was collected in eastern Massachusetts in 1980, and comparisons with a specimen from Nova Scotia, Canada, confirm the hybrid from that province. Drosera ×eloisiana is likely more widespread than documented in New England and beyond, and additional discoveries may follow.