From car windshields to cat , wench around the world confront plenty of mortal threats . Butas IFLScience reports , avians in Puerto Rico have particularly unequaled timber foe that until recently were obscure to scientific discipline . late in the island ’s jungles , research worker have discovered two new mintage of " wench - catcher " trees , bearing ripe , sticky yield that — yes — can quite literally trap and kill birds .
As latterly described in the journalPhytokeys , the trees — which are member of the genusPisonia — produce fruit with viscous skin insure in flyspeck claw . If a shuttlecock perches on the tree , a piece of fruit can pose to its physical structure ; when the bird flies off , it engage the fruit with it , potentially dispersing it somewhere else on the island . But if the fruit become too tightly affix to birds , they can trap and pop their tiny transporters . Theirtiny bonessometimes litter the trees ' swollen roots , which wrap over rocks and are said to look like elephant feet .
The trees ' discovery has result in the long - due credit of two overlooked distaff figures in Puerto Rico . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree were given the namesPisonia horneaeandPisonia roqueaeto celebrate the scientific contributions of Frances W. Horne ( 1873–1967 ) , an American illustrator whose vibrant water-colour depict hundreds of Puerto Rican plant ; and Ana Roqué de Duprey ( 1853–1933 ) , a Puerto Rican academic , writer , suffragist , and amateur ethnobotanist .
" It only seemed natural to name the two newfangled species after these two sinful women who spent decades on large educational projects aim to divulge botanical noesis in Puerto Rico , " written report co - generator Jorge C. Trejo - Torres said in astatement . " Just like the two big Tree stay unrecognized by skill until now , the tremendous efforts of these two women , who dedicated part of their lives to botanic work , remained mostly unrecognized by the community of interests . "
[ h / tIFLScience ]
