Man-eating tree
Encyclopedia
Man-eating tree can refer to any of various legend
ary or cryptid
carnivorous plant
s that are large enough to kill and consume a person or other large animal. In actuality, the carnivorous plant with the largest known traps is probably Nepenthes rajah
, which produces pitchers up to 38 cm (15 in) tall with a volume of up to 3.5 litres (7.4 US pt). This species may rarely trap small mammal
s.
. In 1881 German explorer "Carl Liche" wrote an account in the South Australian Register
of encountering a sacrifice
performed by the "Mkodo" tribe of Madagascar
:
The tree was given further publicity by the 1924 book by former Governor of Michigan
Chase Osborn
, Madagascar, Land of the Man-eating Tree. Osborn claimed that both the tribes and missionaries on Madagascar knew about the hideous tree, and also repeated the above Liche account.
In his 1955 book, Salamanders and other Wonders, science author Willy Ley
determined that the Mkodo tribe, Carl Liche, and the Madagascar man-eating tree itself all appeared to be fabrications.
In J. W. Buel's Land and Sea (1887), the Ya-te-veo ("Now-I-see-you") plant is said to catch and consume large insects, but also attempts to consume humans.
It is said to be a carnivorous plant that grows in parts of Central and South America with cousins in Africa and on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
There are many different descriptions of the plant, but most reports say it has a short, thick trunk and long tendrils of some sort which are used to catch prey.
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary or cryptid
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
s that are large enough to kill and consume a person or other large animal. In actuality, the carnivorous plant with the largest known traps is probably Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes rajah
Nepenthes rajah is an insectivorous pitcher plant species of the Nepenthaceae family. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Nepenthes rajah grows exclusively on serpentine substrates, particularly in areas of seeping ground water where the...
, which produces pitchers up to 38 cm (15 in) tall with a volume of up to 3.5 litres (7.4 US pt). This species may rarely trap small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s.
The Madagascar tree
The earliest well known report of a man-eating tree originated as a hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
. In 1881 German explorer "Carl Liche" wrote an account in the South Australian Register
South Australian Register
The Register, originally the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register, was the first South Australian newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836 and folded almost a century later in February 1931....
of encountering a sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
performed by the "Mkodo" tribe of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
:
"The slender delicate palpi, with the fury of starved serpents, quivered a moment over her head, then as if instinct with demoniac intelligence fastened upon her in sudden coils round and round her neck and arms; then while her awful screams and yet more awful laughter rose wildly to be instantly strangled down again into a gurgling moan, the tendrils one after another, like great green serpents, with brutal energy and infernal rapidity, rose, retracted themselves, and wrapped her about in fold after fold, ever tightening with cruel swiftness and savage tenacity of anacondas fastening upon their prey."
The tree was given further publicity by the 1924 book by former Governor of Michigan
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
Chase Osborn
Chase Osborn
Chase Salmon Osborn was an American politician, newspaper reporter and publisher, and explorer. He served as the 27th Governor of Michigan from 1911 to 1913.-Early life in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin:...
, Madagascar, Land of the Man-eating Tree. Osborn claimed that both the tribes and missionaries on Madagascar knew about the hideous tree, and also repeated the above Liche account.
In his 1955 book, Salamanders and other Wonders, science author Willy Ley
Willy Ley
Willy Ley was a German-American science writer and space advocate who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight in both Germany and the United States. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor.-Life:...
determined that the Mkodo tribe, Carl Liche, and the Madagascar man-eating tree itself all appeared to be fabrications.
The Ya-te-veo
It is said to be a carnivorous plant that grows in parts of Central and South America with cousins in Africa and on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
There are many different descriptions of the plant, but most reports say it has a short, thick trunk and long tendrils of some sort which are used to catch prey.
Literature
Man-eating plants have appeared in literature.- In the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series a plant called Devil's Snare attempts to eat Harry and his friends by entangling them with its vines, when they try to find the Philospher's stone; it also strangles a hospital patient in Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, and was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada...
.
- In "The Sagebrush Kid", a short story in Annie Proulx's 2008 Fine Just the Way It IsFine Just the Way It IsFine Just the Way It Is is a 2008 collection of short stories by Annie Proulx.-Family Man:The story is set in a Wyoming "Old Folks' Home" for old cowboys, ranchers and their womenfolk. Old cow-poke Ray Forkenbrock has skeletons in his closet he must talk about before he dies. The past is...
, a childless Wyoming couple transfer their affections first to a piglet, then a chicken, and finally to a sagebrushAtriplex canescensAtriplex canescens, Chamiso, Chamiza, Four wing saltbush, Four-wing saltbush, and Fourwing saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the Amaranthaceae family, which is native to the western and mid-western United States....
they fancy to have the appearance of a child. It is tended and protected, and even fed bones and stray scraps of meat from their dinner-table. Even after the couples' passing, the shrub - now grown to the height of a fair-sized tree - is used to human attention, and meat. It consumes livestock, then soldiers, then a local medico, railroad men, surveyors, and most lately a botanist come to investigate its unusual height and luxuriance. - In Beyond the DeepwoodsBeyond the DeepwoodsBeyond the Deepwoods is a children's fantasy novel by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, first published in 1998. It is the first volume of The Edge Chronicles and of the Twig Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the fourth novel, following the Quint Saga trilogy that was published...
, the first story in Paul StewartPaul StewartPaul Stewart is the name of:*Paul Stewart , writer of The Edge Chronicles*Paul Stewart , motor racing driver/team director, son of World Champion Jackie*Paul Stewart , Canadian pianist...
and Chris RiddellChris RiddellChris Riddell is a British illustrator and occasional writer of children's literature, and a political cartoonist for The Observer. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize seven times....
's The Edge ChroniclesThe Edge ChroniclesThe Edge Chronicles is a young-adult fantasy novel series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. It consists of three trilogies, plus three additional books, and others . Originally published in the United Kingdom, this series has since been published in the United States, Canada and Australia. To...
, the protagonist Twig encounters a man-eating tree called a Bloodoak. A parasitic symbiotic plant known as the tarryvine snares victims and then drags them to the Bloodoak where they are devoured.
See also
- Carnivorous plant: Cultural depictions
- CryptobotanyCryptobotanyCryptobotany is the study of various exotic plants which are not believed to exist by the scientific community, but which exist in myth, literature or unsubstantiated reports....
- Upas treeUpas treeAntiaris toxicaria is native to Australia, Cameroon, China , Democratic Republic of Congo, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda and Vietnam.The name antiaris is derived directly from the Javanese language name for it: ancar...