| Carnivorous flower ? | |
|---|---|
| |
| As seen in Comic 41. | |
| First Appearance | Comic 37 |
| Habitat | Forest |
| Scientific classification not all levels shown | |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Class | Magnoliophyta* |
| Family | Droseraceae? Characidae? |
| Species | ? |
The Characidae plant is a species of carnivorous flower that exists within the habitat. It shares its name with the Characidae family of freshwater fish, which includes the Pirhanas (among others).
The Characidae plant, when fully grown, is capable of swallowing an entire deer in one bite.
Appearance and Behaviour
The carnivorous plant is a large plant that is not part of the flora of real-world Earth. It does strongly resemble the Pirhana plant of Nintendo's Mario franchise.
The species vaguely resembles a tulip; the plants have spheroid maroon flowers with pink spots. The aperture of the flower has a number of sharp teeth and the flower can completely shut like the jaw of a carnivorous animal closing. Unlike members of the Droseraceae family of carnivorous plants (including the Venus fly trap), it is the flower which is adapted to a trap, and not the leaves.
The plant has a long, curved stem, allowing the flower to bend down. It also has a cluster of blade-shaped leaves around the base of the stem. Like many real-world carnivorous plants, these plants have been seen to grow in groups.
The Characidae plant grows dramatically through its lifecycle. When it is still young, it is only about 12 inches/30cm high and can easily fit in a standard planting pot. Fully-grown specimens appear to be taller than a human adult and can easily tackle even large prey, given the size of the skeletal remains seen in Comic 44.
Nothing is known so far about the plants' behaviour. However, the presence of skeletal remains around dormant plants in Comic 44 strongly suggests that the plants become dormant after feeding. This may also indicate that they somehow lure prey to them, but may actively hunt.
Appearances in the Comic
A young carnivorous flower, as seen in Comic 37.
In Comic 37, Alice was shown removing a small specimen from the clearing around her cottage. Given the established time skip between this strip and Comic 27, it seems likely that this seedling sprouted to that size in just a few weeks.
In Comic 44, Ardent and Gavia pass what appears to be three fully-grown specimens, growing together in a tight group in the forest.