it was assumed that, as with the genus Roridula, the plants do not actually digest their prey themselves, rather relying on the bugs to do that. The plants, it was reasoned, benefited by absorbing nutrients from the excrements of the bugs, either through their leaves or through the ground. An indirect digestion of these nutrients by a chitinase producing fungus was even proposed. It was not until 2005 that direct digestion of insect prey by enzymes secreted by the sessile glands of B. filifolia was proven. Soon thereafter similar results were found with B. liniflora. These results clearly place this genus among the true carnivorous plants. Systematics Molecular genetics studies have placed the genus in the order Lamiales. While its placement within the order is still unclear, it is closely related to Martyniaceae, Lentibulariaceae as well as Gesneriaceae. For a time, the genus Roridula was also assigned to the family Byblidaceae. Since that time, however, it has been placed into its own family, Roridulaceae. Traditionally the genus was divided into only two species, namely B. gigantea and B. liniflora. Further species were described in the 1980s, particularly through the work of the Australian botanist Allen Lowrie. Eight species are currently recognized: Byblis aquatica (annual, scrambling stem up to , semiaquatic habitats) Byblis filifolia (annual, up to , anthers longer than filaments) Byblis gigantea (perennial, up to , seeds with honeycomb pattern) Byblis guehoi Byblis lamellata (perennial, up to , deeply ridged seeds) Byblis liniflora (annual, up to , anthers shorter than filaments) Byblis pilbarana Byblis rorida (annual, up to , heavily set with glandular tentacles) Subdivision of the genus Byblis liniflora complex The four species of this complex, B. liniflora, B. rorida, B. filifolia and B. aquatica, are annual herbaceous plants that reach a height of and a maximum leaf length of . These species grow from seedlings to flowering plants in only a few months, setting seed and dying with the onset of the dry season. The original haploid chromosome count of this complex is x=8. The diploid number is therefore 2n=16, whereas the tetraploid species B. liniflora is 2n=32. Byblis gigantea complex The remaining two species, B. lamellata und B. gigantea, make up what is known as the B. gigantea complex. These perennial species are both endemic to Southwest Australia, and reach heights of . Unlike the annual members of the B. liniflora complex, these species survive the