Of Mystics and Mandrakes: Poison Plants and Mini-Men

Of Mystics and Mandrakes: Poison Plants and Mini-Men | Mysterious Universe: "For some of us, the strange and unusual will tend to crop up even when we aren’t looking for it. A fine example occurred over the weekend, while a friend and I were visiting a display at a local garden; to our surprise, the trip became delightfully weird and macabre, as it turned out that what I thought would be a display on exotic insect species ended up dealing instead with different varieties of poisonous and carnivorous plants.



As a child, I used to love to grow Venus Flytraps and pitcher-plants, both of which have evolved various clever ways of extracting extra nutrients by capturing and digesting insects. Several varieties of carnivorous plants appeared at the exhibit, which had been themed around a Victorian set design reminiscent of the old “murder mystery” tales of yesteryear. In addition to carnivorous and poisonous offerings, one area also featured hallucinogenic plant varieties, with references to the often DMT-rich ayahuasca imbibed by different native groups in South America."