Evil Plants Have Grown into Memorable Film Moments

William Loeffler - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Just about every Pittsburgh kid learns the hard way that you've got to stay out of the jaggerbushes or you're in for a world of hurt.

But there might be worse things lurking in the forest than just jaggerbushes. In "The Ruins," it's sentient, carnivorous plants characterized by crawling, strangling vines that block off all escape and lure you to your doom.

The concept might seem silly, but there's actually a long history of mutant killer plants in the movies, TV and science fiction novels, mostly coinciding with the Atomic Age fears of the 1950s and '60s. Now, with climate change, pollution and other assorted contemporary nastiness creeping around the corners of our minds, perhaps the evil-plant-life theme is ready for a comeback.

So, if you suspect it's not just groundhogs chewing up your garden, leave the hedge clippers and the Roundup in the garage, and get yourself a nice, portable flamethrower.

Here are some of the most memorable evil plant life in cinema history:

"The Great Vegetable Rebellion" (1968): In the penultimate episode of TV's "Lost in Space," some members of the plucky little spaceship Jupiter 2 visit a planet populated by sentient vegetation. A huge, cranky, talking carrot named Tybo sets his sights on capturing them. Although spineless Dr. Smith begins turning into a celery stalk, he and his companions escape Tybo and a future of photosynthesis.

"This Side of Paradise" (1967): Strange-looking flowers shoot spores at unwitting members of the starship Enterprise in this episode of the TV series "Star Trek." The infestation protects the crew from radiation, but it also blisses them out so much that they forget all about charting the universe. Spock falls in love, and Dr. McCoy sips mint juleps until Capt. Kirk instigates a sobering turn of events.

"Little Shop of Horrors": The movies (1960 and 1986) and stage show revolve around Audrey II, a plant so exotic that she's extraterrestrial. Hardly a shrinking violet, the seductive and ever-expanding posy thrives on blood and most definitely will bite the hand that feeds it.

"The Day of the Triffids" (1962): Mutant plants make a bid to conquer the Earth after a freak meteor shower in this apocalyptic thriller. The movie, starring Howard Keel, promised "spine-chilling terror." It, along with a 1981 BBC miniseries, is based on a John Wyndham novel.

"Specimen Unknown" (1964): Evil alien flowers make their move, hijacking a spaceship in their mad voyage of conquest, in this episode of the TV sci-fi anthology series "The Outer Limits."

"La Isla de la Muerta" (1967): Mell Welles, who starred in Roger Corman's "Little Shop of Horrors," directed this Spanish hoot, which starred Cameron Mitchell as Von Wesser, a crazed botanist who breeds monstrous plants on a remote island. The plants feed on human blood.

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" (1978 and 1990): This is the way the world ends -- not with a bang or a whimper, but with a splatter of ketchup. Unless a crack team of heroes can stop the man-eating mutant tomato uprising, we're finished. Luckily, these guys have what it takes, including a deep-sea diver who wears his scuba gear all the time, and a master of disguise who hides himself by dressing as a black Adolf Hitler.

"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956): This classic of Cold War/Red Scare paranoia is still chilling today -- though its 1978 and 2007 (as "The Invasion" with Nicole Kidman) remakes fall far short. A doctor discovers that many of his patients think that their relatives and neighbors have been replaced by imposters -- and it turns out they're right. The people, grown in giant plant-like pods by some unfathomable alien entity, introduced the term "pod people" into the common vernacular, where it's used to this day to describe unthinking conformity.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002): OK, so the Ents aren't evil, or even carnivorous, but these giant, ancient, tree-shaped creatures are creepy, especially if you're intruding in their forest, as a small band of hobbits finds out. But they are creatures you can reason with, and will become your allies against a common enemy.

"Farscape" (1999-TV): It's not until the end of the first season of TV's sci-fi saga "Farscape" (1998-2002) that we learn Zhaan's secret. The blue-skinned alien priestess, played by Virginia Hey, is flora, not fauna. As a plant-evolved being, this space traveler is greatly affected by the occasional solar flare.

"Creepshow 2" (1987): In this collection of short films from Stephen King and Pittsburgh's own zombie guru George Romero, one deals with a carnivorous mass of pond scum that attacks a group of people on a raft.

Sources: "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" (Pocket Books, 1997); www.space.com; www.henson.com; www.imdb.com.

Harry Potter's dangerous plants

The Harry Potter universe has so many bizarre, magical and potent plants that it's tough to track them all. Here are some of the ones to look out for, courtesy of the Harry Potter Lexicon. Do not approach without adequate magical countermeasures.

Devil's Snare: A mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that possesses some sense of touch. Devil's Snare uses its creepers and tendrils to ensnare anyone who touches it, binding their arms and legs and eventually choking them. The harder a person struggles against Devil's Snare, the faster and more tightly it binds them. If they relax, it will not kill them as quickly. Devil's Snare prefers a dark, damp environment and shrinks away from fire, so a well-placed flame spell such as "bluebell flames" will drive it away from its victims.

The Mandrake: The Mandrake root is a powerful restorative. It forms an essential part of most antidotes, including one for Petrification. The Mandrake Restorative Draught returns people who have been Transfigured or cursed to their original state. Mandrake seedlings are tufty little plants, purplish green in color with what look like tiny babies growing where the roots would be. These creatures grow and develop over the course of several months until they mature and can be harvested and used for potions. The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to humans, so special care must be taken when growing them. Even as a baby, the Mandrake's howls can knock a person out for a couple of hours.

Mimbulus mimbletonia: Very rare, native to Assyria, this plant resembles a grey cactus, but with boils where the spines would have been. The boils are a defensive mechanism that spews Stinksap upon contact.

Venomous Tentacula: Spiky, dark red plant with long feelers that can reach out and capture prey.

Whomping Willow: A species superficially resembling the willow, this large, violent tree attacks anyone who gets too close.

Real-life dangers

Man-eating plants thrive in old Roger Corman movies and at least one Broadway musical, "Little Shop of Horrors."

In real life, however, they're as nonexistent as vampires or werewolves.

But as anyone who has ever caught a dose of poison ivy knows, there are still plenty of plants that can make life miserable for humans.

Those who live in the Southwest know to avoid the Jumping Cholla Cactus (cylindro puntia). Its pretty flowers conceal needle-sharp spines that seem to "jump" onto anything that brushes against it. Because they're hollow, the spines can embed themselves in skin very quickly, anchoring themselves with a barb that can be extremely painful to remove.

In the rainforests of Australia lives a plant named the Acadia cuspidifolia. Most Aussies would give you a blank look if you called it that, however. They likely know it by its nickname, the Wait-A-While. It's so named because that's what you have to do when the spiny vines hook into your clothing. It's also known as the Lawyer Vine.

The Australian stinging tree has been called the world's most painful plant. Also known as the Gympie Gympie, it grows in rainforests above Cairns on the continent's eastern coast. The broad, spade-shaped leaves look as though they're covered with fuzz -- which actually are tiny spines. Thanks to a natural chemical that gets injected into the skin, anyone who brushes up against a Gympie Gympie will be extremely sorry. The pain can last for months.

While the Venus Flytrap hogs all the publicity, other carnivorous plants would eat its lunch. The Nepthenes Rajah, a plant indigenous to certain mountainous regions of Malaysian Borneo, has been known to consume lizards, birds and even rodents in its pitcher-shaped gullet.

The Roridula dentata in South Africa can grow up to 6 feet high and produces lovely pink flowers. Their sticky, tufted leaves trap insects and even small birds. Since the Roridula lacks the enzymes necessary to digest its prey, it relies on insects known as assassin bugs to eat the food and process it for them.

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