Nature & Environment
Sheep-Eating Plant: Creatures Entangled in Razor Sharp Spines Decay and Help Fertilize Plant
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jun 21, 2013 01:00 PM EDT
Did you ever see the movie "Little Shop of Horrors" and remember that plant with a taste for human flesh?
Well, even if you didn't see the movie, don't worry-this plant we're about to talk about doesn't seem to have a preference for humans.
However, it may have a particular liking for sheep. This "sheep eating" plant, also called the Puya chilensis, a relative of the pineapple that's covered with razor-sharp spines and has a 10-foot tall flower spike, has been growing in the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley for the past 15 years, despite that it's native to parts of South America and the Atlantic.
According to the BBC, "In the Andes, it uses its sharp spines to snare and trap sheep and other animals, which slowly starve to death," adding that the animals at the base of the plant die soon after they are trapped, decay, and act as fertilizer for the plant.
However, the plant currently residing in the United Kingdom has no rotting animals dwindling at the base of its stalks.
"We keep it well fed with liquid fertiliser as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic," horticulturalist Cara Smith said, according to the BBC.
"It's growing in the arid section of our glasshouse with its deadly spines well out of reach of both children and sheep alike."
Species similar to this plant, including P. alpestris and P. chilensis are often cultivated indoors as decorative plants.
However, all this information has made us a bit weary of having any of these plant's relatives in our homes, ever.
Would you want these guys on your shelf?
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First Posted: Jun 21, 2013 01:00 PM EDT
Did you ever see the movie "Little Shop of Horrors" and remember that plant with a taste for human flesh?
Well, even if you didn't see the movie, don't worry-this plant we're about to talk about doesn't seem to have a preference for humans.
However, it may have a particular liking for sheep. This "sheep eating" plant, also called the Puya chilensis, a relative of the pineapple that's covered with razor-sharp spines and has a 10-foot tall flower spike, has been growing in the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley for the past 15 years, despite that it's native to parts of South America and the Atlantic.
According to the BBC, "In the Andes, it uses its sharp spines to snare and trap sheep and other animals, which slowly starve to death," adding that the animals at the base of the plant die soon after they are trapped, decay, and act as fertilizer for the plant.
However, the plant currently residing in the United Kingdom has no rotting animals dwindling at the base of its stalks.
"We keep it well fed with liquid fertiliser as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic," horticulturalist Cara Smith said, according to the BBC.
"It's growing in the arid section of our glasshouse with its deadly spines well out of reach of both children and sheep alike."
Species similar to this plant, including P. alpestris and P. chilensis are often cultivated indoors as decorative plants.
However, all this information has made us a bit weary of having any of these plant's relatives in our homes, ever.
Would you want these guys on your shelf?
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone