Scary Plants You Won't Want to Grow at Home

Tending to houseplants and backyards gardens is a therapeutic hobby, a zen practice that brings about peace and tranquility right? Well, not always. Believe it or not, there are some downright freaky plants out there, guaranteed to creep into your nightmares. Some are carnivorous, some will leave you with painful sores and rashes, while others are harmless but just look horrifying.

Keep reading, if you dare, for 6 scary plants you won’t want anywhere near your home garden.

White Baneberry – “Dolls’ Eyes”

Close your eyes and imagine a horrifying craft project, consisting of dozens of tiny eyeballs fused together on tiny sticks with blood red hot glue. There you go, you’ve imagined the White Baneberry, also known as dolls’ eyes. This alien-looking plant grows across North America, and can grow as high as two feet tall.

Dictamnus “Burning Bush”

Imagine strolling through a field and coming upon a spread of beautiful pink flowers. These beauties display clusters of flecked lilies on a tall, light green stem, and go by the name Dictamnus. Would you pick some? If so, you may now suffer from swollen, burning and painful skin rashes that last for up to a week. This beautiful flower holds a painful secret, but so long as you live in North America, you’re probably safe from this blossom on your next wildflower stroll.

Venus Fly Trap

Yes, carnivorous, scary plants are a thing, and the Venus Fly Trap isn’t even the most horrifying (Google Attenborough’s pitcher plant – it eats whole mice). But, if you want to add a little freaky to your houseplant collection, a Venus Fly Trap is a good place to start. The most common carnivorous houseplant, this killer is easy to come by and is native to subtropical wetlands in North and South Carolina. Before you adopt your own meat-eating plant, be sure to read up on care, many Venus Fly Traps are overfed and die quickly after purchase.

Tacca chantrieri “Bat Flower”

This may be the creepiest flower you’ve ever seen, and it’s hard to describe. It’s like if an alien with huge fangs, crossed with a bat and then grew whiskers? The Bat Flower looks terrifying, but is actually harmless and while it’s native to Asia thrives in warmer parts of North America, like Florida. So if you’re looking to naturally keep people out of your garden, plant a few Bat Flowers.

Sundew

Another carnivorous plant, the Sundew is prolific and can be found across the globe, including North America. The Sundew grows best in warm, wet climates and produces small droplets of sticky mucus to trap their prey. The top of the plant is covered in small “hairs” that ooze a sticky sap used to trap bugs and insects. The plant then uses a web of sticky glands, which digests the bugs with acid-like enzymes. When the Sundew is finished digesting its prey, the leaves unfurl to reset the trap.

Dracula Orchid

The Dracula Orchid is dark, beautiful, and just a little bit creepy, making it worthy of inclusion on our list of scary plants. Some people report seeing a “face” of sorts in the middle of the flower, and the long tentacles that cascade from the tips of each orchid petal are just a little unnerving.

What scary plants have you encountered? Share your creepy stories with us in the comments section below.

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash