Carnivorous Plants — - ix — Preface 



K. Wilhelm Institut f. Biologic, Dahlem; Professor Edgar J. Wherry, University of 

 Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. J. Wyer, N. Queensland Natural History Club, 

 Cairns, N. Queensland. 



Finally my thanks are due to the Carnegie Institution of Washington, at Stanford 

 University, for technical help. 



From time to time during the last 50 or 60 years there have appeared in various 

 popular magazines and newspapers accounts giving more or less detailed descriptions of 

 fabulous man-eating trees. The earliest of these, apparently, is one which was written 

 by Dr. Carle Liche, quoted at length by Chase S. Osborn in his book Madagascar, 

 the land of the mafi-eating tree. This lurid title was used avowedly to "enmesh the interest 

 of possible readers", not to propagate the faith. A summary of this and of a number of 

 other yarns has been provided by Sophia Prior in a bulletin issued by the Field Museum 

 of Natural History in 1939. If the reader cares to inform himself concerning this lore, 

 these two sources will set him on his way. Miss Prior's paper is documented, and in- 

 cludes reproduction of some of the illustrations which constitute part of the original but 

 unconvincing evidence offered in the various accounts reviewed by her. Extensive use 

 has been made of the Field Museum bulletin by Dr. Abilio Fernandes in an article 

 entitled Morphologia e biologia das plantas carnivoras (see under Drosophyllum). 



An amusing, perhaps also tragic, circumstance is to be found described in Liche's 

 account, in which a highly imaginative illustration shows that, instead of a native maiden 

 being sacrificed by her tribe by yielding her up to the man-eating tree (possibly a ficti- 

 tious kind of cycad), a beautiful magazine cover blonde was the Iamb brought to the 

 slaughter . . . 



A certain carnivorous-plant-mindedness shown by the general public has been due 

 also to occasional cartoons in papers and magazines. In these it is usually the flowers 

 which are incorrectly if amusingly represented as the traps. Such contributions to the 

 more evanescent literature are happily intended less for instruction than for titillation. 

 The misconceptions which arise in this way, while doing little harm, awaken curiosity, 

 the mother of knowledge. 



All the illustrations in this book are originals, prepared by the author, 

 unless specifically noted otherwise. The names of authorities in many cases 

 are not accompanied by dates. In such cases only a single publication, to be 

 found in the literature lists, can be referred to. Passages in languages other 

 than English have been translated. 



The arrangement of chapters may appear illogical. The principle under- 

 lying it is the increasing complexity of the traps. But for this, the fungi may 

 be thought to appear in a strange setting. 



Finally I wish to acknowledge assistance, in the reading of proofs, of Professor C. B, 

 VAN NiEL, of Stanford University; of Dr. Mary Mitchell Moore (Mrs. A. R. Moore). 

 and Mrs. F. Verdoorn, who also prepared the indices. Dr. Michael Doudoroff, 

 University of California, and the editors of Chronica Botanica have kindly helped me in 

 checking a number of references to the literature. 



