sundew means any of a group of insectivorous plants in the genus Drosera that catch insects by sticky droplets ("dew") at the end of hairs on the leaves and grow in boggy ground all over the world. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “sundew” is a great word
SUNDEW — [Noun] A carnivorous plant of the genus Drosera, its leaves fringed with sticky, glandular tentacles that glisten to ensnare insects. From sun + dew, a calque of Latin rōs sōlis ("dew of the sun"). First attested in English 1570–80, from Dutch sondauw (cognate with German Sonnentau). Unlike the "pitcher plant," which drowns its prey in a passive, cavernous well, or "butterwort," which relies on a flat, adhesive smear, the sundew is an active, grasping hunter. It is a star-shaped emerald rosette in a sodden bog, each hair tipped with a bead of fatal nectar; it is the slow, deliberate curl of a leaf around a struggling midge; it is dewdrops that do not evaporate but consume. Here is beauty as a patient, phosphorescent trap.
noun
- Any of a group of insectivorous plants in the genus Drosera that catch insects by sticky droplets ("dew") at the end of hairs on the leaves and grow in boggy ground all over the world.