Madagascar Safari: Madagascar and the Legend of the Man Eating Tree

During the late 1800s, as European imperialist governments and trading companies invaded and colonized much of the African continent in what is now known as the “Scramble for Africa,” sensational and often entirely-fabricated stories about the people, animals, and landscapes of Africa began to emerge in the European and American press. Madagascar, despite its unique status as an island, was not exempt from the Scramble; the Franco-Hova Wars, which lasted from 1883-1896, ended with the establishment of the French protectorate of Madagascar, which soon became a colony. Nor was Madagascar exempt from gross misrepresentation in the western press/rumor mill. One particular account, published in the New York World in 1874, captivated the public and, unlike other explorer’s tales, refused to fade from memory. The story was picked up by various papers, including the South Australian Register, which effectively catapulted it into circulation throughout the western world. The article features a letter purportedly written by the “eminent botanist” Karl Leche (who did not exist) to a colleague Dr. Omelius Friedlowsky (of whom there is also no record).

In the letter, Leche describes an expedition deep into unexplored Madagascar forest known to be inhabited by a tribe of “inhospitable savages” called the Mkodos (this “tribe” also does not exist). As he and his assistant Hendrick forge their way, members of the tribe emerge from the jungle and follow behind him, until the party arrives in a clearing dominated by “the most singular of trees.” The tree looks like a “pineapple eight feet high”, with a trunk “hard as iron.” Twelve-foot-long leaves hang from the top of the tree and touch the ground. The leaves are described as “two feet through in their thickest part and three feet wide, tapering to a sharp point… set with thorny hooks.” At the top of the tree, a concave “receptacle” is filled with “treacly liquid, honeysweet, and possessed of violent intoxicating and soporific qualities.” The top of the tree also has long, bobbing, serpent like tendrils that wave in the air and make Leche “shudder.” The Mkodo men, upon reaching the tree, start shouting “Tepe! Tepe!” and surround one of their women and force her to climb to the top of the tree and drink the liquid. She drinks, and rises with a “wild frenzy” in her face. Before she can jump down, the tree springs to life: “the slender delicate pulpi, with the fury of starved serpents, quivered a moment over her head, then, as if instinct with demonic intelligence, fastened upon her in sudden coils round and round her neck and arms…” The tree proceeds to fold itself around the screaming, hysterically laughing woman, and then its giant leaves rise up and fold around her, releasing fluid from the tree that mixes with her blood and slides down the trunk. The Mkodos rush forward and drink the mixture of blood and sap, go “mad and frantic” and have an “indescribably hideous orgie.” Leche runs away with Henrick. A few weeks later, Leche returns, and finds the woman’s skull beneath the tree.

The fabricated tale persuaded several explorers to search for the tree. Chase Salmon Osborn, who was the Governor of Michigan fro 1911 to 1913, became obsessed with the idea of the man eating tree and traveled extensively throughout Madagascar searching for it. He eventually published Madagascar: Land of the Man Eating Tree a book that admitted to his never having found the plant and actually focused on other topics. Many other scientists and anthropologists that traveled to Madagascar in the early 20^th century purportedly inquired about the tree, even if it was not their primary topic of interest.