Wicked Plants at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Jumping cactus (Cylindropuntia fulgida): terrorizes hikers in the southwest US by seeming to leaping onto clothing or exposed skin, and hooking in tight. Segments of the plant are so loosely connected that they detach at the slightest touch, and glom on. And they don’t come out easily – causing pain, irritation, and even infection if you can’t get the barbs out. (Courtesy of the BBG)

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An evil tree grows in Brooklyn! Okay, maybe not, but the Brooklyn Botanic folks have planted what they're calling Wicked Plants, and they'll be on view from May 31st through September 6th. But don't get too close, the over 50 plants have the capacity to injure, poison, and irritate humans. Here's what to expect if you have the courage to show up: "In ten areas throughout the Garden, on-site text and the Garden’s first-ever audio tour, featuring its science and horticulture staff, share facts, advice, and tales of close encounters with wicked plants. Visitors will learn about such botanical menaces as monkshood (Aconitum sp.), a member of the buttercup family used to tip spears for killing prey—and people; ricin (Ricinus communis), an extract of the castor bean that was used to poison a Bulgarian dissident in the 1970s; and the jumping cactus (Cylindropuntia fulgida), which terrorizes hikers by seeming to leap onto clothing or exposed skin." And don't forget the Venus Fly Trap, which nearly killed Rick Moranis in Little Shop of Horrors!