The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-25
THREE CURIoUs PLANTS.
The CnnnibaI Tree, GraDpIe PIans
and Vegetable Python.
No. 6ss Main street, Buffalo. N.

ana vegetable PythOD.
From the Los Angeles Herald.
Three of the most dangerous Of vege-
tative plants In the world are the "canni-
bal tree of Australia. the death" or
"grapple plant OF South Africa, and the
vegetable python" OF New Zealand.
The "cannibal tree" grows up in the
shape of a huge pineapple, and attains %
hight Of eleven feet 1t has a series OF
broad, board-like leaves, growing in a
fringe at the apex. which forcibly brings
to mind a gigantic Central America agave.
and these board-like leaves, from ten to-
twelve feet In the smaller specimens and
from fifteen 90 twenty feet in the larger.
hang to the ground and are easily strong
enough TO bear the weight Of a man Of $40
pounds or more In the ancient times this
tree was worshipped by the native sava-
ages under the name of the devil tree" a
part of the interesting ceremony being the
sacrifice of one Of their number 70 its all
too-ready embrace The victim TO be sac
rihced was driven up the leaves Of the tree
TO the apex. and the instant the so-called
"plstils' OF the monster we're touched the
leaves would fly together like a trap. crush
ing the life out Of the intruder. In this
way the tree would hold its victim until
every particle Of flesh would disappear
from his bones.
The "grapple plant Is a PROSTATE herb,
growing In South Africa. It's flowers are
purple and shaped like the English fox
glove. Its fruit has formidable hooks,
which, by clinglng TO any Dasser-by. is
conveyed TO situations where It's seeds may
find suitable conditions for growth. Sir
John Lubbock says il has been known to
Kill lions.
The vegetable python" which Is known
TO the naturalist as the clusia or fix, Is
the stranger Of trees. The seeds OF thu
clusia, being provided with a pulp and
very pleasant to the tropical birds, which
feed thereon are carried from tree TO
tree and deposited on the branches Here
termination begins. The leafy stem slow
ly rises upward, while the roots flow. as
Il were, down the trunk until the soil is
reached Here and there they branch,
changing their course according to the
direction OF any distractions met with.
Meanwhile from these rootlets leafy
branches have been developed. which.
pushing themselves through the canopy
above, get into the light, and enormously
accelerated their growth. Now "A meta
morphosis takes place For the hitherto
soft aerial roots begin TO harden and
spread wider ana wider, throwing out side
branches which flow into and amalgamate
with each other until the whole tree trunk
Is bound In a series OF irregular living
hoops. From this time on Il Is "A strug-
gle OF life and death between the forest
giant ana the entwinlng ciusia. Like an
athlete the trees tries 90 expand and burst
rs letters. causing the bark 70 bulge be-
tween every interlacing; but success and
freedom are not for the captive trees, for
the monster clusia has made its bands
very numerous and wide. Not allowed
expansion. the tree soon withers and dies,
and the strangicf 81 soon expanded into a
great bush. almost a. large as the mass
II II truly tragedy Ia the world Of vese-
tati0n,