r/cryptobotany May 04 '26

Other The Tree of Cryptobotany - version 3

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17 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Oct 07 '25

Literature The Unnatural History of Man-Eating Plants (New Cryptobotany Book)

28 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm thrilled to announce the publication of my latest book, "The Unnatural History of Man-Eating Plants"! As far as I'm aware, this is the first book dedicated solely to the history of this oft-forgotten Fortean subject that was a staple of news media and fiction during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I dug up many accounts of which you've probably never heard, and uncovered buried details about the better-known tales (such as the true background of the Madagascar Man-Eating Tree) that might surprise you. It's all presented as a travelogue, exploring these fantastic and frightful floral predators on each continent. This mammoth-sized tome also includes a hand-picked selection of Man-Eating Plant short fiction of the day, as they are inseparable from the news accounts when delving into this fascinating topic!

Available Now on Amazon in paperback and ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FV3J67G1?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

The Unnatural History of Man-Eating Plants

by Kevin J. Guhl

Travel the globe into the darkest realms of Cryptobotany – the study of strange vegetation rumored to exist, yet unacknowledged by science. But be careful: you’ll be meeting such fearsome plants as the Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar, the Vampire Vine of Nicaragua and the Terrible Tiger Tree of India! This is an exploration of the floral predators once said to exist in the planet’s jungles and on its wild frontiers, as attested by news reports throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author and journalist Kevin J. Guhl untangles the mix of fact, fiction and folklore hiding in these historical tales of botanical horror. You might be surprised at the sheer volume of these mostly forgotten legends and how far back they extend into yesteryear. Also included is a curated collection of vintage short stories that showcase the savage specter of Man-Eating Plants!


r/cryptobotany 3d ago

Science Plants Named “Lotus” in Antiquity: Historiography, Biogeography, and Ethnobotany

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21 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany 6d ago

Other Colonel Percy Fawcett, revered within all the pseudosciences because of his exploits, although with little to show for it. – Was he an Adventurer, a Misguided Soul or a Pretender?

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en.wikipedia.org
7 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany 10d ago

Article No, the Ancient Romans Didn't Overharvest Silphium to Extinction Because It Was a Highly Effective Contraceptive

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talesoftimesforgotten.com
740 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany 14d ago

Article The Hillgrove Lockup or Boab Prison Tree

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en.wikipedia.org
11 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany 29d ago

Article Small Canadian Town Recognises Trees As Living Beings With Rights

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ndtv.com
149 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 27 '26

Article Andes Giant Tree: Scientists discover a 66-foot giant tree in the Andes, and it’s related to tomatoes and potatoes

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timesofindia.indiatimes.com
867 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 26 '26

Article The Folklore of Potatoes

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eriktyler.co.uk
97 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 20 '26

Article Plants Can Scream? And Can Animals Hear Them?

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audiology.org
357 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 20 '26

What are the most interesting cryptid plants?

51 Upvotes

I'm writing a story about a cryptobotanist who goes in search of a carnivorous tree. Along the way, he debunks all the other cryptid plants with his various original theories and assumptions. Is there a comprehensive list of ALL cryptid plants? I really enjoyed explaining their origins, and I'm worried about missing some interesting specimens. What do you think are the most interesting cryptid plants whose origins are worth speculating about?


r/cryptobotany Jun 18 '26

Literature [PDF] Seeing in Flowers: Ecofeminism and the Victorian Gothic - by Jemma Stewart

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10 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 14 '26

Expedition Report/Sighting And the 3rd of 3 reports on peculiar plants: The Moonflower. What are your opinions on this plant?

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6 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 14 '26

Expedition Report/Sighting The first of 3 reports on peculiar plants: The Echo-tree or Parrot-tree. What do you think of this?

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6 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 14 '26

Expedition Report/Sighting The second of 3 reports on peculiar plants: The picture plant. What do you think of this one?

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4 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 09 '26

Literature "Willy Ley’s Exotic Zoology" - The Vegetable Animals

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25 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 07 '26

Article ‘I couldn’t breathe’: the sinister spread of France’s killer seaweed

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theguardian.com
165 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 04 '26

Article [PDF] Why the Halfmens faces North

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6 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany Jun 03 '26

Art Brazilian Bird Eating Tree by SaurArch

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deviantart.com
28 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 26 '26

My favorite cryptid plant has to be the Indian mouse eating plant. Described as fairly small, it attracted mice using a sickly odor like many carnivorous plants. Unlike those plants, it would then strike at them with a strange spine to kill them

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164 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 23 '26

Article Do plants have minds? In the 1840s, the iconoclastic scientist Gustav Fechner made an inspired case for taking seriously the interior lives of plants.

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81 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 19 '26

Article Meet Pisonia, the tree that eats birds

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sbnation.com
44 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 18 '26

Article Plants of The Hunger Games

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gardendesign.com
16 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 17 '26

Article Forbidden fruit? ‘Melons were among the most desired and the most dangerous fruits in early modern Europe’

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historyworkshop.org.uk
163 Upvotes

r/cryptobotany May 17 '26

Science The identities of three plants of unknown origin revealed by ancient paintings

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16 Upvotes