PLANTS THAT NEARLY KILL.

Shannon News, 16 January 1925, Page 4

PLANTS THAT NEARLY KILL.

Two botanists recently had a nightmare adventure which might have come from the pages of one of H. G. Wells’s “other world” stories. They had penetrated far into a great swamp 40 miles from New Orleans, where they became hopelessly lost. After wandering about for a week they, landed on a small island, which was new to them (says the “Weekly Tele, graph.”) One of the men put out his hand to pick a flower, when he was suddenly seized by a frond of the tree As he tried to free himself other fronds - .crept out and seized him. still more tightly, until he was struggling as if in the grip of, an octopus. Luckily the other botanist ran up with an axe to free his companion. He, too, was seized by the octopus-tree, and it was only after two hours of slashing with the axe that the collectors freed themselves.

The fronds were enormously strong and muscular, and as they were cut red sap like blood oozed out. When, they were freed, the botanists watched the way the tree seiked rabbits and small animals which wandered too near. The creatures were squeezed to death by the fronds, and then lifted to the top of the main stem to an aperture which apparently served as a mouth. It seems that the tree Is a * freak relative of a large - family of flesh-eating plants, of vNiich there are several in this country, suoh ias the pitcher plant and the '‘jaola,in«th©pulplt,” which Uw on capture!