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Nature

The Plant That Eats Sheep

Puya chilensis has spines that trap sheep — then it feeds on them as they decay.

Reviewed by the CurioVault curator · 8 October 2026 · Editorial standards

The Plant That Eats Sheep — AI illustration
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Puya chilensis, a bromeliad from Chile, grows 3m tall with barbed spines. Sheep and birds get entangled and starve. The plant then absorbs nutrients as they decompose at its base. It doesn't digest live, but it's carnivorous by proxy — a sheep-eating plant kept at RHS Wisley behind a fence for safety.

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#plants#carnivorous#Chile#sheep#botany

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