The Truth Behind Super Mario's Piranha Plant

Hydnora Africana, ladies and gentlemen. Could this have been the inspiration behind Mario’s speckled snappy plants?

It grows underground, with its big toothy jaw-like flower sitting out in the open. Old Nora here is an achlorophyllous plant, which means it doesn’t have that nice green colour from having chlorophyll, and therefore does not perform photosynthesis. Instead. she gets her nutrients from a separate host plant that she coils her roots around, stealing that plant's energy like a parasite.

As if that wasn’t horrific enough, Nora’s flower literally stinks of feces.

Yes, plumbers and princesses; it smells like s**t.

When an unsuspecting dung beetle smells the awful stench and investigates, they’ll find themselves trapped within the maw of the flower. The beetle could be trapped for up to several days, all the while getting covered in the plants pollen, before the flower will pull apart its “teeth” and let anything trapped inside go free, where it can spread the plant's pollen to other flowers in the area.

I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this is absolutely terrifying. Damn nature, you scary.

Still, at least they don't shoot fireballs. We don't realise how lucky we are.

How many nopes out of 10 would you rate the real world Piranha Plant? Let us know in the comments, as well as which other games you’d like us to delve into!