Sheep-eating plant blooms in U.K.

A “sheep-eating” plant has bloomed for the first time in nearly two decades at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden Wisley in the U.K.

The plant is set to bloom for about a week. The plant, in its 15 years at the garden, has grown to be 10 feet in height. It has grown sharp, spiky barbs.

The Huffington Post reports that the plant traps sheep and other fuzzy animals with its sharp spines. After the animal has died from starvation and decomposed, the plant uses the decomposed body as fertilizer.

Cara Smith, a horticulturist at the Garden Wisley, states “I’m really pleased that we’ve finally coaxed our Puya chilensis into flower. We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic. It’s growing … well out of reach of both children and sheep.”

According to The Inquistr, the Puya chilensis, as it is formally called, is a plant indigenous to Chile. It can grow to be up to 12 feet in height and five feet in width.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Stan Shebs