St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1897-05-07
THREE CURIOUS PLANTS.
The cannibaI Tree, drappIe Plant and yege
table Python.

INC SahhiDai Tree, drapple Plant and Vege-
table Python.
Three OF the most dangerous of
vegetable plants in the world are the
'cannibal 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 huge pineapple, and
attains hight of eleven feet. 1t has
series OF broad, board-like leaves,
growing in fringe at the apex,
which iorcibly brings to mind
gigantic Central American agave;
and these board-like leaves from ten
to twelve feet in the smaller speci.
mems and from fifteen to twenty feet
in the larger, hang to the ground and
are easily strong enough to bear the
weight OF man of 40 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 interesting ceremony
being sacrifice of one of their num-
Der to its all too-ready embrace. The
victim to be sacrificed was driven up
the leaves of the tree to the apex, and
the instant the so called "pistils"
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 its
victim until every particle of flesh
would disappear from the bones.
The "grapple plant" is PROSTATE
herb, growing in South Africa. Its
flowers are purple and shaped like
the English foxglove. Its fruit has
formidable hooks, which, by clinging
to any passer by is conveyed to stu
ations where its seed may find suita-
BILE conditions for growth. Sir John
Lubbock says it has been known to
kill liens.
The vegetable python" which is
known to the naturalist as the clusia
or fig, is the stranger of trees. The
seeds of the clusia, being provided
with pulp and very pleasant to the
tropical birds which feed thereon, are
carried from tree to tree and depos-
tied on the branches. Here germina-
ton begins. The leafy stem slowly
rises upward, while the roots flow as
it were, down the trunk until the soil
is reached. Here and there they
branch, changing their course accord
ing to the direction of any obstruc-
tons met with. Meanwhile from
these rootlets leafy branches have
been developed, which, pushing them
selves through the canopy above get
into the light and enormously accel
crate their growth. Now a meta.
morphosis takes place. For the
hitherto soft arial plants begin tc
harden and spread wider and wider
throwing out side branches, which
flow into an amalgamate with each
other until the whole tree trunk is
bound in series OF irregular living
hoops. From this time on it is a
struggle of life and death between the
forest giant and the entwining clusia
Like an athlete the tree tries to
expand and burst its letters, causing
the bark to bulge between every
interlacing; but success and freedom
are not for the captive tree, for the
monster clusia has made its bands
very numerous and wide. Not
allowed expansion, the tree soon
withers and dies, and the stranger
is soon expanded into great bush,
almost as large as the mass OF
branches and foliage it has effaced.
1t is truly tragedy in the world OF
vegetation Los Angeles Herald.