Those blokes over in the UK may be seeing their last sprig of mistletoe this Christmas, as Scientific American reports that it's disappearing from its historic habitats. The parasitic plant is losing the apple orchards it has depended on for survival as industrialized apple farming takes over. Yep, Factory farming is now killing your yuletide game—it just got serious. more ›

Residents of Millville, New Jersey, a small town an hour from Atlantic City, are mystified as to how marijuana started growing in a parks department flower basket hanging from lamp posts on (heh) High Street. On Tuesday afternoon some square spotted the leafy pot stalks sticking out above a patch of flowers in one of the baskets and dutifully notified the authorities. Cops rushed to the scene, mounted a ladder, and removed the proscribed plants. One officer involved in the plant removal theorized that marijuana seeds may have been thrown out of an apartment window above the street. See, if the cops had just let those seeds grow, the people of Millville could have climbed that magical pot stalk to the clouds and be smoking a giant blunt by now. But if the seeds weren't tossed there accidentally, how on earth did they get there? Bystander Pam Elliot had no answers, though she did tell the Press of Atlantic City, "We watch the guys every day, faithfully come out and water and fertilize every basket. That fertilizer is so good." Yep, it's a mystery! more ›

After investigating reports from missionaries about a giant plant that subsists on whole rats, British botanists have announced the discovery of a species of rodent-eating plant on Mount Victoria in the Philippines. The giant pitcher plant, which is believed to be the world's largest meat-eating shrub, seduces rodents into its slipper-shaped mouth and dissolves them with acid-like enzymes. It can grow a stem more than 4ft long and has been named "Nepenthes attenboroughii" after wildlife broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. Stewart McPherson and former Cambridge University botanist Alastair Robinson made their discovery during an expedition in 2007, but have only just described the killer shrub after completing a study of all 120 species of pitcher plant. Below, some video of the rat-hungry attenborough at mealtime: more ›

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Usually these stories involve the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast, but The Daily News is reporting that the Hindu god Ganesh has now appeared in a flower in Queens! They report that a 60-year-old "New York City man is convinced the elephant-headed god" has grown from his amaranth plant, blessing and healing him. Crazy right? But the Queens Botanical Garden is also mystified by the unusual appearance of the plant, saying they have "never seen an amaranth take an elephant-like shape ... the trunk-like formation is not a natural thing.'' [via WCBS 880] more ›