'Little Shop of Horrors' is a Broadway play and motion picture about an extra-terrestrial plant that has an appetite for human blood. However, for years explorers have been reporting stories of man-eating plants.
Does a 'Audrey II' or any other human eating plant really exist?
Does a 'Audrey II' or any other human eating plant really exist?
Plants That Eat Flesh!
Depiction of a man eating tree. On the 26th April 1874 an article appeared in the New York World newspaper containing a letter written by a German explorer by the name of "Karl Liche", who described an encounter he had in Madagascar. He claimed to have witnessed the sacrifice of a woman by the "Mkodo" tribe to a man-eating plant. The plant apparently wrapped its tendrils around said woman, strangled her, then folded her in its many arms and ate her slowly over an undescribed period of time.
The plant was also described by a former U.S. Governor in his book about exploring Madagascar, in which the tribes and missionaries were all aware of said same plant and deemed it a God. However it is now known that the Mkodo tribe, Karl Liche, and the said account of sacrifice were all fabrications for story purposes.
However, many believe that it's possible that such a plant, or plants, exist. As with the animal kingdom, not all plant species have been discovered and classified, and it is here that cryptobotany comes in. It is the study of exotic plant life said to only exist in folklore, myths and legends or literature, with a focus on those said to have harmful or beneficial interactions with humans.
The plant was also described by a former U.S. Governor in his book about exploring Madagascar, in which the tribes and missionaries were all aware of said same plant and deemed it a God. However it is now known that the Mkodo tribe, Karl Liche, and the said account of sacrifice were all fabrications for story purposes.
However, many believe that it's possible that such a plant, or plants, exist. As with the animal kingdom, not all plant species have been discovered and classified, and it is here that cryptobotany comes in. It is the study of exotic plant life said to only exist in folklore, myths and legends or literature, with a focus on those said to have harmful or beneficial interactions with humans.
Cryptobotanists are particularly fascinated with accounts of large, carnivorous plants said to inhabit the jungles of Africa and South America. These stories may have originated from initial reports of now classified plants such as Nepenthes rajah, a species of pitcher plant native to Borneo that produces traps that can ensnare small animals, such as rats and monkeys.
However, it’s known that the plant doesn't grow to large sizes and it’s more likely that the creatures get caught in the process of trying to get to water in the pitcher and perhaps drown.
However, it’s known that the plant doesn't grow to large sizes and it’s more likely that the creatures get caught in the process of trying to get to water in the pitcher and perhaps drown.
Fact and Fiction
A "cryptid" plant said to exist, although no specimen has ever been recovered, is the Umdhlebi, a tree-like plant said to be poisonous and originate in South Africa. It is said to uproot itself and "move" from spot to spot, looking for food said to be sometimes of a human variety.
Legends dictate that it sprays an acidic poison compound and when rooted the soil around said plant is poisonous as well, with stories depicting human and animal skeletons near the plant after straying too close. It is said to bear fruit that has an antidote to the poison. Descriptions of said plant are varied, some tribes describing a shrub while others say it’s as tall as an oak.
Still, fiction continued to entice us with stories of murderous plants, with The Day of the Triffids, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Wyndam, being released in 1951. Their origin is unknown, but it is theorised by the main character that they may be the result of genetic experiments by the Russians and not an organic species. The novel was made into a film in 1962.
Legends dictate that it sprays an acidic poison compound and when rooted the soil around said plant is poisonous as well, with stories depicting human and animal skeletons near the plant after straying too close. It is said to bear fruit that has an antidote to the poison. Descriptions of said plant are varied, some tribes describing a shrub while others say it’s as tall as an oak.
Still, fiction continued to entice us with stories of murderous plants, with The Day of the Triffids, a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Wyndam, being released in 1951. Their origin is unknown, but it is theorised by the main character that they may be the result of genetic experiments by the Russians and not an organic species. The novel was made into a film in 1962.
'Audrey II' from 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Another example of a fictionalised man-eating plant is Audrey II, an extraterrestrial life-form that is the main antagonist in Little Shop o Horrors.
Stories of blood-thirsty plants abound through out literature. Are these stories just fictionalised re-countings of possible plants that actually may exist somewhere in unexplored regions of the world's jungles and rainforests?
Are there species of plants not yet known to botany that could hunger for the taste of human blood?
Stories of blood-thirsty plants abound through out literature. Are these stories just fictionalised re-countings of possible plants that actually may exist somewhere in unexplored regions of the world's jungles and rainforests?
Are there species of plants not yet known to botany that could hunger for the taste of human blood?
Matty Sweeney 2013
Put together by Ashley Hall 2013
Put together by Ashley Hall 2013
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