Ghoulish Garden : Halloween's Favorite Plants

Drosera capensis eating a fly

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When speaking of weird and spooky plants, how can one forget the ever hungry carnivorous plant! Of course the most notorious of these would be the Venus flytrap, however there are many more carnivorous plants out there, and some of them look just as odd as the fly trap! These plants, although carnivorous, do not hold any threat to humans! You may get sick if you eat one, but don't worry they won't be after your or your cat anytime soon! Here are just a few of the oddest looking carnivores...
Naturally we'll start by looking at the Venus flytrap. This chilling plant is definitely intimidating and has even been the monster in some B Horror movies. No matter how odd or how out of this world this plant seems, they are actually quite helpful to our ecosystem. They trap and digest flies and many other insects. Native to the states of North and South Carolina in the United states, these curious plants are in danger of becoming extinct due to human curiosity and collecting. These plants are very easy to care for, and actually do produce a very beautiful flower. A word of advice, if you obtain one, refrain from putting your finger in the trap to see it close, this takes up a lot of energy and will tire the plant out quickly and may even kill it.

Venus flytrap
Noa Elhardt Wikipedia Commons

Sarraceniaceae

Sarracenia leucophylla
Photographer: Xscd Wikipedia Commons

Heliamphora ionasi
:Photographer: Andrea Elis Wiki-Media Commons

The Sarraceniaceae family are carnivorous pitcher plants that capture their prey by luring insects to a sweet smelling nectar that is contained within the pitcher, the insect is then drowned and digested. On the left is the Sarracenia leucophylla, which is native to the Gulf Coast of the United States of America. This plant is frequently confused for the cobra lily. A strange but beautiful plant; resources state that these plants have become a popular bouquet item. Unfortunately, this is causing an endangerment to the plant.
Read more here: Sarracenia Bouquets On the right the very large and beautiful Heliamphora iosani, which is native to the South American country of Venenzuela.

Below are some more plants from this family.

Nepenthes macrophylls
Public Domain Wiki-Media Commons

Nepenthes calcarata
Photographer:David Sucianto

Nepenthes ventricosa
Photographer: Alastair Robinson

Nepenthes edwardsiana.
Photographer:Alastair Robinson

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Who can celebrate Halloween without bats! This is a Tacca Chantrieri, also known as the "black bat" flower. This flower's native soil is South East Asia. These beautifully Gothic flowers can grown up to be up to 20" (that's 0.508 meters) If you want to treat yourself to one for this Halloween, just a little note, these plants take utter care, and are very particular, the do not like to be rooted in one place, and they don't like sunlight or heat they prefer the dark dungeons, or a cool shady spot.

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Ah! Nothing beats the smell of rotting flesh in the morning! This flower (Amorphophallus titanum ), also known as the corpse flower, or corpse plant is one of the most morbid and largest flowers discovered. Certainly something that would be in Tim Burton's next movie, this flower got its name from the repugnant odor it transmits. This giant can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters!)

Appropriately called the Ghost Plant ( Monotropa uniflora). This rare plant has the characteristics of a ghost. First of all, just as a ghost cannot tan, this plant cannot get any nutrients from the sun. It's main form of vitamins are trees that are nurtured through photosynthesis. In other words, it posses the trees body in order to get it's physical nourishment! This parasitic plant grows in many parts of the world, but is quite rare. It mostly haunts North America, Asia, and Northern South America.

Frequently confused for the much larger Corpse flower, the Dracunculus vulgaris, also known as the Voodoo Lily, or the Black Dragon is a completely different species. This flower was native to Greece and Crete, however it has been seen more in the United States. If you are looking to get a Corpse flower for your garden, that may be a bit unlikely, but this is a more feasible alternative, it even has that oh-so-fresh scent of decay! These flowers are currently growing in a lot of the southern U.S.A. States, and may be obtainable through a greenhouse.