[1] Plants are 4 to 8 cm in diameter, with broadly spathulate leaves arranged in a rosette.

[2] The species was formally described by Jules Émile Planchon in Annales des Sciences Naturelles in 1848 as Drosera "Whittakerii".

[3] The species was named after Derbyshire botanist Joseph Whittaker who collected some 300 plant specimens from Adelaide and the southern Mount Lofty Ranges to Encounter Bay between 1839 and 1840.

[1]: 163 Two subspecies are recognised by some authorities:[3] In 2008, Allen Lowrie and John G. Conran elevated the former to species status, as Drosera aberrans.

The authors also argue that Drosera praefolia should be considered a distinct species, rather than a synonym of D.