Umdhlebi

Infobox Paranormalcreatures
Creature_Name = Umdhlebi
Grouping = Cryptid
Sub_Grouping = Plant
Country = South Africa
Region = Zululand
Habitat = Jungle
First_Reported = November 2, 1882
Last_Sighted = November 2, 1882
Status = Undetermined

Umdhlebi is an unverified plant species purported to originate in Zululand, South Africa. It was first reported in the journal "Nature" on November 2 1882 by Reverend G. W. Parker, a missionary in South Africa, who said the plant was poisonous.cite web
last = Schneider
first = Michael
title = Cryptobotany: Umdhlebi
work =
publisher = Verein für kryptozoologische Forschungen
date =
url = http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kryptozoologie.net%2Fartikel%2F%3Fcat%3D10&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-11-01 ]

According to Parker, Zulus sacrificed sheep and goats to the tree to calm the evil spirit. As of 2008, no specimen of the Umdhlebi has ever been recovered, and other than 19th century anecdotal evidence no further verification is known to exist.

Characteristics

The Umdhlebi is described as having large, fragile green leaves, and two layers of bark - a dead outer layer that hung off the tree, and a new living layer that grew beneath it. The fruit of the tree was reported to be red and black, and to hang from branches like small poles.

Effects

Parker said the Umdhlebi poisoned animals that approached so that the natural process of decay would fertilize the soil in which it was growing. Symptoms of the tree's poison reportedly included headache and bloodshot eyes, followed by delirium and then death.Parker never identified the source or nature of its poison, but hypothesized that it secreted a poisonous gas from the soil around its roots.

References

See also

* Cryptobotany
* Cryptids