Man-eating plants

**Man-eating plants** are a common trope in pop-culture with frequent usage in the Disney Parks mythos.

## Description

### Background

#### Real-life

Man-eating plants are a fictitious extrapolation on the concept of carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants are plants which live in ecosystems with soil that is poor in nutrients. As a result, these plants evolve to extract nutrients such as nitrogen by breaking down animal and eukaryotic matter. The most common of these plants will eat protozoans and arthropods however larger plants are known to consume small vertebrates (although some will opt to live symbiotically with small vertebrates by giving them shelter in return for consuming the nitrogen in their fecal matter).

### Classifications

#### Carnivorous Vines

These are vines which could move in a prehensile fashion similar to snakes. The tips of these vines were mounted with flytrap like buds presumably used for consumption.

#### Jungle Flytraps

These are flytraps with sharp, tooth-like formations which grew to around the size of a human head.

#### Jungle Man-eating plant

This is a plant which had never been seen in official materials and which likely might not exist.

#### Man-Eating Wreath

This was a carnivorous plant seemingly originating from the monstrous realm of Halloween Town. It is a vine-like organism which can move its vines like tendrils to grab and ensnare food. The organism has a pair of eyes similar to those of an animal and also has a sort of mouth which can sometimes be seen having sharp teeth, inferring that it breaks down its kills by stabbing and chopping. The vines of this plant will sometimes bud flower-like flytraps with their own teeth and eyes which are capable of making sound, similar to an animal.

#### Mystic Carnivorous Plant

This is seemingly not an actual species of plant but rather a form of plant which was created by magic through the Balinese Music Box.

## Appearances and allusions

### Haunted Mansion

The wallpaper in the corridor of doors of the Haunted Mansion is modelled after Rolly Crump's design for a man-eating plant.

#### Haunted Mansion Holiday

The man-eating wreath adorns the corridor of doors in this overlay. Its buds sing a rendition of, "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" while guests pass by.

#### Museum of the Weird

A carnivorous plant resembling a flower was to be featured in this expansion of the Haunted Mansion.

### Jungle Cruise

Dr. Leonard Moss can be seen with a multitude of giant flytraps in a cage strapped to his back, with other specimens being located around a workspace at the Magic Kingdom version of the attraction. Nigel Greenwater also mentions a 1935/1936 carnivorous plant exhibition in his spiel.

#### Jungle Cruise Adventure Game

The carnivorous vines are an obstacle in this game which attack Jungle Cruise boats.

#### Unused

Marc Davis had created a fictitious man-eating plant for the Jungle Cruise. This creature would have been surrounded by human boats and burped at passing boats.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2020/05/31/board-game-review-jungle-cruise-adventure-game/
2. ↑ https://jungleskipper.com/news/man-eating-plants