'Sheep-eating plant' blooms in Britain

Monday, August 5, 2013

According to The Huffington Post and other, perhaps more reliable, news sources such as the BBC, a so-called "sheep eating-plant" bloomed for the first time in June at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden Wisley in the U.K. where it had been located for 15 years.

Puya chilensis, a native of an arid area of Chile, uses razor-sharp hooked-shaped spines to protect its soft inner core from attack by birds and small animals. A press release from the horticultural society says those spines are also known to ensnare sheep. After they die and decompose, the animals nourish the plant by providing fertilizer. According to the society's press release, horticulturalist Cara Smith says, "We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic."

The society spokesperson adds that the plant is placed so that it doesn't ensnare children either.

According to The Guardian Express, shepherds in Chile set fire to the plant in order to protect their flocks. Not hard to do in Chile's arid desert where it lives. The plant in the garden in Britain is 10 feet tall. BF