(Getty)
(Getty)
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Puya chilensis. (E Grant / Royal Horticultural Society)
A Chilean plant that kills and feeds upon sheep is about to bloom for the first time since it was planted 15 years ago at The Royal Horticultural Society in England.
In its native environment in the Andes mountains, the Puya chilensis uses a mace-like spire of spikes to trap sheep and other animals.
The animals then slowly starve to death and decompose, becoming natural fertilizer, according to the BBC.
The staid Horticulture Society has replaced the plant’s carnally gruesome feeding cycle with a more family-friendly alternative: liquid fertilizer.
“I’m really pleased that we’ve finally coaxed our Puya chilensis into flower,” said horticulturist Cara Smith.
“We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic.
“It’s growing in the arid section of our glasshouse with its deadly spines well out of reach of both children and sheep alike.”
The menacing plant has bright green and yellow flowers that bloom on the tall spikes that protrude from the top of the plant.