Drosera spatulata var. lovellae, Fraser island, Queensland, Australia, 30 seeds

Species of the Drosera spatulata complex are found from New Zealand, Tasmania, and Australia, through southern Asia, and into China and Japan. As would be expected with that wide a range, there are a number of closely related species and varieties.

The variation from location to location can be quite extreme within Australia and Tasmania. The range in plant size is on the order of 2 to 7 cm. Some of the variation is local ecological adaptation where, for instance, a location will have short or unpredictable seasons and the plants will grow quickly and bloom quite small. This is genetic as the plants in cultivation are also small and may be hard to maintain long term in captivity. However, size is not a taxonomic character. Flower color also is not considered taxonomically significant. Flower petals can be white or pink. To define a separate species or variety, there needs to be something else different for the plant to get a separate name.

Drosera spatulata was named by Jacques-Julien Labillardière in 1804 from a plant collected near Southport, Tasmania, during the d'Entrecasteaux expedition in 1793. The description basically says "spathulate" leaves and has a few other details such as glandular calyx. This is the typical form of the plants in Australia, Tasmania, parts of southeast Asia, and Japan.

Drosera spatulata var. lovellae or Drosera lovellae is found on Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia.  It was named by F. M. Bailey in 1893 (Bulletin 21, pg 61-62). This variety or species is distinguished from Drosera spatulata var. spatulata by the flowers having 4 styles instead of 3. The name is not generally accepted because that distinction is not considered sufficiently important. The exact configuration of stigmas and styles in Drosera flowers can be quite variable within species and even on the same plant.

About the locality: K'gari (Batjala for 'Paradise'),also known by its former name Fraser Island, is a World Heritage-listed sand island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The island lies approximately 250 km (160 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser Coast Region local council area.

The island is part of the traditional lands of the Butchulla people, under the traditional name of "K'gari". European settlers who arrived in 1847 named the island "Fraser Island" after Captain James Fraser, master of Stirling Castle, who was shipwrecked and died on the island in early August 1836. On 7 June 2023, the island was officially renamed K'gari by the state government.