page_title: Triffid
section_title: In other adaptations and sequels
hierarchical_section_title: Triffid / Characteristics / In other adaptations and sequels
caption_attribution_description: English: scanned photograph of sign encouraging the removal of the weed Chromolaena Odorata - commonly known as a Triffid. Taken in Kloof, South Africa.
context_page_description: The triffid is a fictional tall, mobile, carnivorous plant species, created by John Wyndham in his 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids, which has since been adapted for film and television. The word "triffid" has become a common reference in British English to describe large, invasive or menacing-looking plants.
context_section_description: The triffids portrayed on screen and in sequels often differ in appearance from Wyndham's original concept.
  In Steve Sekely's 1962 film adaptation, the triffids (now given the binomial name Triffidus celestus) were designed with flaying tentacles below their stems, which they use as slashing weapons and to drag their dead prey. Also, their stinger is shown as a gas-propelled projectile, rather than a coiled tendril. Finally, the film triffids are vulnerable to sea water.
  The 2009 TV adaptation shows the triffids dragging themselves with prehensile roots which can also constrict their prey. Their stalk is surrounded by large agave-like leaves and they secrete their oil (green rather than the novel's pink) from their surfaces. Their stingers, which in previous film adaptations could not penetrate glass, are powerful enough to shatter windows, like those of the original triffids of the novel. Instead of a cup they have a pink flower-like head, resembling a cross between a lily and a sweet pea, that enlarges before releasing the sting.
  In The Night of the Triffids, a small number of North American triffids reach 60 feet (18 m) in height. Aquatic triffids also appear but remain largely unseen, with the exceptions of their stingers: the latter described as prehensile.  One character in the novel, Gabriel Deeds, speculates that the vibrations made by the triffids'sticks serve as a form of echolocation.
caption: A sign in Kloof encouraging the elimination of the Chromolaena odorata weed
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