Cool But Forgotten Movie Monster Lore: Wolf Flower
See this right here? This is a fictional flower from the Universal monster movie The Werewolf of London (1935). Not exactly the best werewolf movie. It predated The Wolfman by six years, and honestly I think The Wolfman is superior. But then, I also consider it one of my favorites.
However, this flower is still very cool. If you like werewolf lore, you may like this too.
In the movie, this thing is Mariphasa lupina lumina, more commonly known as the wolf flower. It's very rare, only growing in a remote valley in Tibet. Nobody seems to have brought specimens back for proper study. The flower itself is phosphorescent, and, incredibly, it is naturally selenotropic.
I know, you're saying "seleno-what?"
In 1833, a man named M.C. Musset did an experiment where he raised plants in total darkness and then exposed them to moonlight to see if the plants would follow it. Normally, plants are heliotropic. They turn and bend to follow the sun. The plants in the experiment did follow the moon. That's what selenotropic means.
It should be noted that in the real world, no plants are naturally selenotropic. They'll do it in experimental conditions, but otherwise? Nope. But this one does.
The wolf flower is a species that not only follows the position of the moon, it only ever blooms in moonlight. It takes its literal life from the moon. And it is also the only known treatment for lycanthropy.
The movie uses the word "cure," but I think treatment is more accurate, as the effect is only temporary. But if you cut off a bloomed flower, you can use the fluid in the flower to prevent the transformation. It's as basic as stabbing the cut stem into your flesh, though that's not the most ideal way to administer medication.
The movie might not have been the best, but I always thought this flower was very cool.
What do you guys think?
