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	<title>Atom Comedy Blog &#124; Funny Blogs &#187; Plants</title>
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		<title>Nature&#8217;s Most Horrifying Plants</title>
		<link>http://www.atom.com/blog/2008/12/08/natures-most-horrifying-plants/</link>
		<comments>http://www.atom.com/blog/2008/12/08/natures-most-horrifying-plants/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:26:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ian Cheesman</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Plants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.atom.com/blog/?p=223</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A recent atom article examined members of the animal kingdom that looked like an incarnation of Stephen King&#8217;s most pants-pissing nightmares.&#160; It was a sound reminder that for all of our technical evolution, we are still little more than fangless meatsacks to most of creation.&#160; However, what isn&#8217;t commonly known is that for every snarling [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A <a href="http://community.atom.com/Post/The-Most-Disturbing-Animals-on-Earth/03EFBFFFF0182C7B8000800A5BDC5/">recent atom article</a> examined members of the animal kingdom that looked like an incarnation of Stephen King&#8217;s most pants-pissing nightmares.&nbsp; It was a sound reminder that for all of our technical evolution, we are still little more than fangless meatsacks to most of creation.&nbsp; However, what isn&#8217;t commonly known is that for every snarling face-eater prowling just outside our gates, there are examples of equally horrific and vicious plants.&nbsp; Let us celebrate the flora that would prefer to use their chlorophyll as a zesty marinade for your ass. <br id="n3lp0" /><br id="zdrp0" /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes"><strong><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Pitcher Plants</span></strong></a></p>
<div align="center" id="ah7d"><img height="287" width="191" src="https://docs.google.com/File?id=dd698thq_64dg92h4cz_b" alt="" id="m_ib" /></div>
<p><br id="a92e" />At first glance this looks more like John Holmes with a touch of frostbite than a death dealer.&nbsp; To really appreciate it take closer look at the top (a.k.a. the Gaping Maw Of Doom):</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div align="center"><img height="181" width="272" src="http://files0.fluxstatic.com/00A5E53601800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642401591392802" alt="" /></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Nature has inspired some of the most heinous chastity belts</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Look familiar?&nbsp; Here&#8217;s a quick refresher:</p>
<div align="center" id="w190"><img src="http://files1.fluxstatic.com/00A5E53701800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642403295778710" alt="" /></div>
<p><br id="afsk" /><br id="afsk0" />It&#8217;s basically a quadriplegic Predator, though that&#8217;s not to say they are entirely immobile.&nbsp; Plants of this type have clambering vines with tendril-like leaf tips that allow it to climb on to surrounding vegetation.&nbsp; That means that after it traps a creature with its plant fangs and slowly dissolves it in syrupy digestive enzymes, it can send out a hitman cousin out to take down the victim&#8217;s family. <br id="wqts" /><br id="wda5" />The leaf on top baits newcomers with nectar only to introduce dangerously slippery footing.&nbsp; It also has some very unusual markings:</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://files3.fluxstatic.com/00A5E53801800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642403966408002" alt="" /></div>
<p>This plant is a member of the genus &quot;Nepenthes&quot;, which comes from Greek as an assembly of&nbsp;<i id="l2lm6">ne</i> = not and <i id="l2lm7">penthos </i>= grief or sorrow.&nbsp; The name of the plant literally means &quot;without remorse&quot;, presumably because the Greeks didn&#8217;t have a word for &quot;stone cold killa&quot;.&nbsp; Most of its body count is in the form of insects, but they have also been known to take down frogs and rodents.&nbsp; With that sort of ambition how long will it be before they come after our children?</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actaea"><strong><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Doll&#8217;s Eyes</span></strong></a></p>
<p>Lots of plants want to kill you.&nbsp; This one wants to WATCH you die.</p>
<div align="center"><img height="352" width="263" src="http://files0.fluxstatic.com/00A5E53B01800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642405287197705" alt="" /></div>
<p><br id="tnib" /><br id="tnib3" />The entire plant is poisonous, but I can&#8217;t bring myself to acknowledge the lethality while it&#8217;s looking at me.&nbsp; Sure, ingestion of the berries sedates the heart into cardiac arrest, but I&#8217;m not sure that matters when its cold, disembodied eyes are feeding on my soul. <br id="wqts" /><br id="wda5" />The only way to make a more disturbing plant would be to harvest what was left of the dolls this plant cannibalized:</p>
<div align="center"><img height="352" width="264" src="http://files1.fluxstatic.com/00A5E53F01800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642406308610492" alt="" /></div>
<div align="center"><em>If you listen closely to the monitor, you can hear the author crapping himself </em></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchineel"><strong><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Manchineel</span></strong></a></p>
<div align="center"><img height="433" width="280" src="http://files3.fluxstatic.com/00A5E54301800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642407695494368" alt="" /></div>
<p><br id="k6671" /><br />In Spain these trees are known as <font size="2" id="elrz">&quot;manzanilla de la muerte&quot;, or&nbsp; &quot;little apple of death&quot;, though the apples should be the least of your worries.&nbsp; The fruit can be fatal if eaten, but this tree is more concerned with maiming you before you even get to it. <br id="wqts" /><br id="wda5" />The tree secretes a toxin that causes blistering when in contact with any damp patch of skin.&nbsp; Imagine that during rainfall when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carib">Caribs</a> lashed you to the tree as a form of torture.&nbsp; They also used the sap to poison their blowgun darts and the leaves to poison enemies&#8217; water supplies.&nbsp;&nbsp; (It is almost certain the Caribs would still have been total dicks even the tree didn&#8217;t exist, but we can&#8217;t be sure.)</p>
<p>In case the subtleties above have been missed, here&#8217;s a quick physiology review of the manchineel trees:<br /></font></p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://files2.fluxstatic.com/00A5E54701800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642409158941234" alt="" /></div>
<p><font size="2" id="elrz"><br />One can&#8217;t help but wonder why we&#8217;ve allowed these edifices to biohazard to persist.&nbsp; After all, you don&#8217;t need to touch them to send them to a fiery grave, right?&nbsp; As luck would have it, the smoke produced by these trees is also toxic enough to cause blindness.&nbsp; Don&#8217;t let that discourage you &#8211; despite what my psychiatrist says, I assure you that most of life&#8217;s problems can still be solved with fire.</p>
<p></font><br /><a href="http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23283785-2,00.html"><strong><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Hudson Pear Cactus</span></strong></a></p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://files3.fluxstatic.com/00A5E54901800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642410160510144" alt="" /></div>
<p>Anyone&nbsp;who&#8217;s encountered the business end of a cactus can assure you it isn&#8217;t pleasant.&nbsp; Imagine one that dials up the unpleasantometer to &quot;impalement&quot; and you&#8217;ve got the Hudson Pear Cactus. </p>
<p>The Hudson Pear Cactus is basically the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine_(comics)">Wolverine</a> of the plant world. It has formidable 2-inch spines known to pierce workboots and tires, let alone your flesh.&nbsp; They&#8217;ve killed koalas who tumble into them and claims exist that they&#8217;ve killed a man as well.&nbsp; (NOTE:&nbsp;The man technically died of a heart attack after falling into one, so he may have been the delicate type who would&#8217;ve perished upon hearing his shoes and belt didn&#8217;t match.&nbsp; Still, a kill is a kill.)</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://files3.fluxstatic.com/00A5E54A01800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642411124422563" alt="" /></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><i>The presence of adamantium in the cactus is presumed, but not confirmed</i></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The cactus has been employed as a security device by opal miners to prevent access to their diggings.&nbsp; Let that sink in for a moment &#8211; rather than employ a human sentry or rabid junkyard dog, they used this <i>plant</i> to guard their precious gemstones. <br id="wqts" /><br id="wda5" />Even the miners may have underestimated the cacti&#8217;s rage toward mankind though.&nbsp; In an apparent effort to poke and prod us into adopting life in the ocean, this cactus doubles its area of coverage every&nbsp;five years.&nbsp; By cactus standards, that&#8217;s spreading like a virus.&nbsp; A virus with <em>KNIVES</em>.</p>
<div align="center"><img src="http://files1.fluxstatic.com/00A5E54B01800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633642411578644220" alt="" /></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>&quot;This used to be a nice neighborhood before those ebola punks moved in.&quot;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><strong><em>Ian Cheesman</em></strong><em> is finally striking a blow for justice against the tyranny of fauna-centric blogging.&nbsp; Join his quest at <a href="http://internetsensation.com">Internet Sensation dot com</a>.</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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