The world’s spookiest plants

Halloween is just around the corner and is definitely the best time of year to honour all things creepy! To celebrate the upcoming event in true Green Team Interiors style, we’ve found an article sharing some of the world’s spookiest plants that will be sure to send shivers down your spine!

• Puya Chilensis

Think that sheep-eating plants are fantasy? Think again. Chile is home to this deathly plant that was featured in one of our blogs back in 2013. It can be hazardous to curious little lambs that become entangled in its pointed spines and decomposing animals are even thought to feed the plant by enriching the soil with nutrients!

• Darlingtonia Californica (Cobra Plant)

The Darlingtonia Californica’s nickname stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with its very own forked-leaf fangs. The plant is native to Northern California and Oregon, preferring to dwell in bogs and seeps with cold running water. And did we mention it’s carnivorous?

• Actaea Pachypoda (Doll’s-eyes)

This herbaceous perennial plant, native to eastern North America, possesses toothed leaves and gets its name from the creepy eye-like berries it produces. But if that’s not terrifying enough, both the berries and the plant itself are considered poisonous to humans..

• Amorphophallus Titanum (Corpse Flower)

A few months back you may have noticed our blog on the Corpse Flower – one of the world’s biggest and smelliest plants. Once it blooms, the flower emits a stomach-turning odour and even grows an alien-like protuberance that can reach over three metres in height.

• Tacca Chantrieri (Black Bat Flower)

Native to rainforests in Asia, these disturbing-looking black flowers are somewhat bat-shaped and have long ‘whiskers’ that can grow up to 28 inches in length. What could be creepier?

• Monotropa Uniflora (Ghost Plant)

Fitting to the time of year, the ghost plant is certainly not one you’d want to stumble across on a midnight walk. Unlike most plants, the Monotropa Uniflora is white and does not contain chlorophyl – instead, it resides in dark forests, sucking nutrients from fungi.

• Cirtus Medica Var. Sarcodactylis (Buddha’s Hand)

This citron is apparently a very fragrant fruit, and is predominantly used in China and Japan to perfume rooms and personal items. What fails to escape our minds however, is that it also looks like a ghastly gnarled hand.

• Fallopia Multiflora (Chinese Knotweed)

This plant is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and on the surface there isn’t much that would unnerve you. But beneath the soil you might find roots that resemble little humans as a number of reports have suggested.

• Ficus Aurea (Strangler Fig)

In this species, seedlings will usually live in the canopy of a host tree until its roots establish contact with the ground. After that, it shoots out roots that strangle and kill its host, eventually becoming a free-standing tree in its own right. Talk about a deadly hug.

• Dionaea Muscipula (Venus Flytrap)

What spooky Halloween-themed list would be complete without the Venus flytrap? This carnivorous plant snaps its ‘mouth’ shut to envelop any prey that brushes along its tiny hairs. Digestion takes about ten days, after which the trap reopens and is ready for reuse.

To get a glimpse of the world’s spookiest plants included in the list, click here.