I was sitting in my thinking spot yesterday, otherwise known as the Steps of Death to regular readers, and watching the Venus Fly Trap. You might remember that I moved some of my carnivorous plants out to the front verandah to feast on the wasps. Well, Flytrap has been having a high old time and many stripy stingers have fallen victim to its enticing jaws.
Watching it got me thinking, surely there must be articles about man-eating plants.
The Horsham Times 6 May 1892 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72853601
A search threw up this article about Devils Snare, a terrifying plant described by the naturalist Mr Dunstan as a kind of vegetable octopus. You might also know Devil’s Snare as a plant from the Harry Potter novels, I think both plants came from the same place….
What a great story. There was Mr Dunstan, out for a walk with his dog when he was attacked by a man-eating plant. He was walking in the jungles of Central America though, and in 1892 there would be no better setting in the world for a story like this. I wonder if the plant preferred human or dog?
This story is just wonderful. The details of the plant make it sound so menacing; bare interlacing stems of a dark nearly black hue, oozing with a thick viscid gum. Ick.
The twigs were like grabby tentacles, lined with little mouths or suckers that left skin red and blistered on contact. Ouch.
Even better, the last part of the article. Imagine a plant that has the presence of mind to grasp a piece of bloody meat and, once it sated its thirst, toss the drained flesh aside like yesterday’s sushi.
I just wish I had one of them on the steps of death. None of those annoying door-knockers would make it past ever again!
