Terrifying plant that kills sheep and ‘feasts’ on their rotting flesh found growing in Cornwall
A CARCASS hungry plant that traps and kills creatures so it can feast on their decaying bodies has been found growing in Cornwall.
The Puya chilensis plant is native to Chile but one of the countries leading gardeners has revealed the scary species is also growing in the UK.
Cornwall Live has reported that the sharp spiky plant has been seen growing near Truro Crown Court in Cornwall.
Speaking on BBC Radio Cornwall’s Garden Line, Truro’s head gardener Liam Shoesmith said: "It usually grows around the Andes where goats and sheep get their wool caught on its hooks.
"They die and the nutrients seep into the ground allowing Puya to grow.
"It’s not quite like Little Shop of Horrors.";
The smell of a decaying carcass trapped in the plant also aids it further by attracting more animals like birds of prey.
Those creatures come over thinking they are about the enjoy a sheep carcass and the plant traps them too and adds them to the feast.
Musical fans will know that the evil plant in Little Shop of Horrors becomes very bloodthirsty and eventually gets a taste for humans.
Residents of Cornwall do not need to be concerned though as Puya chilensis won't cause them any harm.
We have reached out to Liam Shoesmith for comment.
What is Puya chilensis?
Here's what you need to know about the creepy plant...
- Puya chilensis is a hardy evergreen plant that originates in Chile
- It forms large green thistle like rosettes on tall stems
- These rosettes have hooked stems which trap animals
- If a trapped animal dies then the plant can gain nurtients from it as the carcass decays
- This is why people compare the plant to the alien species in the musical Little Shop of Horrors because that alien plant has a thirst for blood and eats animals and humans
- The plant can take up to 20 years to flower
- It is often compared to medieval maces and grow up to two metres high
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