Dionaea Papaver cross?

Is this the result of a weird cross species polination of Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap) and Papaver nudicaule (Iceland Poppy)? Or is it a strange mutation of either species which has created this bizaare Audrey’ish mutation?

Iceland Poppy - photo courtesy of Harold Davis

The truth is that this is in fact a regular Iceland Poppy. This bizaare looking photo was taken by Harold Davis in his backyard.

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Wikipedia feature

UncyclopeadiaThat mega-famous outstandingly accurate online encyclopedia has a stunning article on Venus flytraps … visit the article here


The article has many, many pieces of information which will be of tremendous help to growers of Venus flytraps. Here are a few selected quotations from the page:

… The Venus Flytrap is a large man eating monster. Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about three to seven meters, depending on the time of year … Flytraps that appear to have more than 10 leaves are generally colonies, formed by by aliens underneath the ground. …

The article then bleats on about all sorts of interesting things

Skull… The mechanism by which the trap snaps shut involves some big ass muscles, steriod abuse and generally massive ass chompers…. are very popular as cultivated plants and are often used for catching burglers and other unwanted people on your property. They are difficult to grow as they often eat their owners …

And yet people still feel the urge to criticise Wikipedia :P

According to the encyclopedia article, the photo above is what will happen to you if you fall into your plant!

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Little Shop of Horrors remake

Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of Horrors film was re-release in 1986. The film was directed by Frank Oz (puppeteer for Yoda and Miss Piggy). The movie was shot in England with a budget of US$30 million. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song for “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”. It caused a small controversy because it was the first Oscar-nominated song to contain profanity and thus had to be censored for the show.

Spoiler

A nerdy young florist’s assistant named Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) discovers a mysterious new plant that came from outer space during a solar eclipse. He names the plant “Audrey II,” because he secretly has a crush on his co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene). The plant improves business at Mister Mushnik’s (Vincent Gardenia) failing skid-row flower shop, and Seymour becomes a local celebrity. However, late at night when the shop is deserted, Seymour accidentally cuts open his fingers and discovers that the only way to make Audrey II grow is to feed it with human blood.

Text content for this page was courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Original Little Shop of Horrors

Little Shop of HorrorsThe mighty Venus flytrap rose to prominence in popular culture in the 1960’s film, The Little Shop of Horrors. Directed by Roger Corman and written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist’s assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.

Although the film didn’t get very much attention when it was originally released, it has since grown to cult classic status, thanks to its low budget and original style of humor. The film inspired a 1982 stage musical, and a 1986 feature film.

More information can be found at the Little Shop of Horrors Wikipedia page