Guillotine Plant

Sticking your hands where they don't belong, even in a simple plant, is a fast way to lose them.

The guillotine plant is a carnivorous plant named for its ability to decapitate animals that are unwise enough to place their head inside.

Appearance

The guillotine plant is similar in shape to a pitcher plant, including the liquid inside. Around the rim, however, are tough and razor-sharp blades that aperture to close and open the plant. They are a light yellow-green in colour, with a darker green around the edge.

Lifecycle

Seed

The guillotine plant starts as a seed typically eaten and spread by a bird. The seed then grows using water and sunlight as an average plant, until they reach approximately 10cm of height.

Sprout

The seedling then begins to grow the iconic tube where insects would be lured by the sweet smell of nectar inside. At this stage, the guillotine plant is indiscernible from the pitcher plant.

Adult Plant

When the plant grows large enough, it will develop the aperture blades around the rim, and the liquid inside will change to water that smells of cut grass. Inside the plant below the water level are tiny hairs that detect the currents in the water. Animals such as deer will put their heads inside to drink, disturb these hairs, and blades made of keratin pilfered from insects will snap shut in a split second, cutting through even the bone with the sheer speed. This is a negative during heavy rain however, as the liquid inside will be disturbed causing the plant to close, preventing any nutrition during that period. This also prevents the plant from overfilling, which would reduce the plants effectiveness.
Guillotine plants can grow up to half a meter in height and a quarter in width.

Interaction With Humans

While the heads of deer and other prey animals are typically found in these plants, there have been cases where hands have been discovered, with gloves, cups and/or waterskins. Understandably, they are often damaged.