The second mysterious Brazilian carnivorous tree described by Wilkins is also endowed with long, writhing tentacles. The horrific stench of rotting flesh it emits warns of the strange plant's proximity (in this respect, it resembles the world's largest flower, the Sumatra Rafflesia, which emits an equally unpleasant odor that attracts flies that pollinate the plant). Small birds are drawn to it, tempted by the sweet-tasting berries. The plant's tentacles entwine the birds and press them tightly to the trunk, where specialized sucking organs hold them until the tiny bodies are completely crushed. During this grim feast, the suckers absorb the birds' blood, then dry up, and the released and drained bird carcasses fall to the ground.
Interestingly, in my book Unexplained Phenomena , I described a very similar plant with blood-sucking branches, supposedly found in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico, nicknamed the "snake tree" because of its long, strangling tentacles. There are also descriptions of a plant with similar properties native to the Lake Nicaragua area.
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