Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1897-06-18
THREE Il {: CURIOUS PtANTs.

6 Il w tsfg 3
Tho Cannibal Tree, Graphic Plant and
Il 5F,. 5,f. .Y..sstabls Python. .ss5,
& Three Of tho most dangerous of vege-
tative plants in the world are the cam
nibal tree Of Australia, the death or
grapple plant Of South Africa and the
vegetable python Of New Zealand
The cannibul tree grows up in the
shape Of . huge pineapple and attains 9
height Of II feet II has : series Of
broad. boardlike leaves growing In a
fringe at the apex. which forcibly
bring to mind 4 gigantic Central
American agave. and these boardlike
leaves, from 10 to IL feet in the smaller
specimens and from 10 to 30 feet In the
larger, hang to the ground and are
easily strong enough to bear the weight
Of q man Of lao pounds or more. In the
ancient times this tree was worshiped
by the native savages under the name of
the devil tree, . part Of the interest
ing ceremony being the sacrifice Of one
Of their number to Its all too ready en-
brace. The victim to be sacrificed was
driven up the leaves of the tree to the
apex, aud the instant the 90 called pis-
ills Of the monster were, touched the
leaves would fly together like . trap.
crushing the life out Of the intruder. In
this way the tree would hold it's victim
until every particle OF flesh would dis.
appear from his bones. .t ~.
The grapple plant il q PROSTATE herb
growing in South Africa. Its flowers
are purple and shaped like the English
foxglove. Its fruit has formidable hooks
which. by olipging to any passerby, is
conveyed 10 situations where it's seed
may find suitable conditions for growth.
Sir John Lubbock says it has been known
to kill lions ..2, ~.
The vegetable python. which is
known to the naturalist as the clusia or
ag, is the stranger Of trees, The seeds
Of the olusia; being provided with o
pulp and very pleasant to the tropical
birds which feed thereon. are carried
from tree 10 tree aud deposited on the
branches Here termination begins.
The leafy stem slowly rises, while the
roots, flow, as it were, down the trunk
until the soil Is reached. Here and there
they. branch. changing their course &C.
oording to the direction Of any obstruo-
lions met with. Meanwhile from these
rootlets leafy branches have been de-
veloped. which. pushing themselves
through the canopy above. get into tho
light and enormously accelerate their
growth. E.,
Now metamorphosis takes place,
for the hitherto soft ,erial roots begin
to harden and spread wider and wider,
throwing out side branches, which flow
into and amalgamate with each other
until the whole tree trunk is bound in q
series of irregular living hoops. From
this time ON it Is struggle Of life and
death between the forest giant and the
entwining clusia. Like an athlete the
tree tries to expand and burst its fet'
ters, causing the bark to bulge between
every interlaoing, but success and free
dom are not for the captive tree, for the
monster clusia has made its bands very
numerous and wide. Not allowed ex.
pansion, the tree soon withers and dies,
and the stranger is soon expanded into
a great bush, almost as large as the
mass Of branches and foliage it has
effaced. It Ia truly tragedy In the
world Of vegetation.-Los Angeles
Herald.