Crinoida Dajeeana, the Devil Tree of Madagascar

Crinoida Dajeeana, also known as the Devil Tree of Madagascar or Man-Eating Tree of Madagascar, is the appellation for a carnivorous plant with supposed origins in Madagascar. The man-eating tree was the subject of press attention during the late nineteenth century, originating from a report in the New York World of 26 April 1874; the authorship of the fantastical story would later be attributed to one Edmund Spencer by Frederick Maxwell Somers in the August 1888 issue of his magazine Current Literature.

Dramatis Personae

 * Edmund Spencer, credited as the author of the work by Frederick Maxwell Somers; in our view, more likely this was Edward Spencer (1834-1883), a notable Baltimore author, poet, and journalist, who wrote for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including the New York World, and was an editor for various newspapers in Baltimore.