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Newsweek
01-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Woman Goes on Walk, Unprepared for What She Finds by Lake: 'Horror Movie'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A post about a woman who came across a strange plant with a "meat-like texture" has gone viral on Reddit. Images of the peculiar plant were shared in a post on Reddit shared by Grace (u/applementionpies). The post has amassed 19,000 upvotes since it was shared on April 21. The pictures show a thick, skin-toned plant stalk dotted by giant dark circular spots laying on a patch of grass. The post was titled: "Seriously WHAT is this." The caption notes: "Found this thing (?)...been wondering since wtf [what the f***] it is since. Had a very strange smell and was almost meat-like in texture." Grace, who did not share her last name, told Newsweek that she came across the plant on the shore of Lake Lida in Minnesota while visiting her friend's cabin there among a group of people aged from 22 to 25. "It was actually May 2022, so the warm weather was just starting to come in. Since it was the beginning of the season, there was debris on the shore that washed up from the frozen months. This was one of them," she said. Grace said the strange sighting "haunted me for 2.5 years" in a later comment. An image of a water lily root found on the shore of a lake in Minnesota, shared in a viral post on Reddit. An image of a water lily root found on the shore of a lake in Minnesota, shared in a viral post on Reddit. u/applementionpies on Reddit The mysterious plant is a water lily root, food scientist Bryan Quoc Le told Newsweek, noting that "it appears that the water lily root has gone through some decay and browning." The food scientist, who is the author 150 Food Science Questions Answered: Cook Smarter, Cook Better and founder of Mendocino Food Consulting, said the water lily root can be consumed. He explained: "These roots are edible and often used in soups or eaten baked, but need to be boiled first to ensure the starches have gelatinized. They're actually quite high in starch, much like a potato or a yam. Most of the water lily is in fact edible." Michael Clarke is a landscape architect and horticulturalist who is the founder of Yardwork, an online plant and tree nursery and landscaping platform. He told Newsweek: "Water lilies are aquatic plants found in freshwater environments such as ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. Their roots grow from rhizomes, which are thick, horizontal underground stems." Clarke explained that rhizomes are buried in muddy soils at the bottom of the water and have fibrous roots that extend into the soil to absorb nutrients and water. The roots stabilize the plant as well as the soil, helping to reduce erosion. "Rhizomes also serve as storage organs for starch and other nutrients, helping the plant survive through dormant periods or unfavorable conditions," Clarke noted. Water lilies have a long history in traditional medicine where all of their parts are used, explains the book Dietary Interventions in Liver Disease, published in 2019. Crushed and mixed with wine, the root of water lilies was used by monks and nuns for hundreds of years as an anaphrodisiac. In addition to its use as "a painkiller, anti-inflammatory, astringent, cardiotonic, demulcent, with sedative and calming effects upon the nervous system," the water lily root can also be used to "insomnia, anxiety, and similar disorders," according to the book. The dried roots and rhizomes of white water lilies have also been used as oral treatments for gastrointestinal, genital and bronchial conditions. The leaves and roots have been used externally to various dermatological conditions, the book explains. 'Something Out of a Horror Movie' Grace told Newsweek that the water lily root "smelled rotted and moldy." She said: "The stench wasn't too pronounced until we poked it with a stick, then it almost started wafting. The outside—with the dots—was hard like a shell, where the inside was softer, almost like the fatty part of steak or pork." Grace knew about water lilies but not so much about their roots. She said: "The group I was with and I have wondered about it for the past two years and randomly would bring it up as a joke. I've shown lots of people and everyone was just disgusted, no one had any context as to what it is until I brought it to Reddit." Redditors were spooked and grossed out by the unusual plant sighting in the viral post. U/Previous-Wasabi-4907 said: "This looks like something out of a horror movie! I can't be the only one who sees the 'head' and 'face'?!" U/UarNotMe wrote: "I was already grossed out by me feel nauseous looking at it." U/BabyOnTheStairs simply said it is a "water lily root" and u/truthhurts2222222 said: "I'm inclined to agree [it's a] water lily root." U/moldylindsey was amazed, noting: "That's wild, because I've been around water lilies my whole life, and I guess I've never seen the root." Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
Newsweek
25-04-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Hiker Goes on Trail, Unprepared for What They Find During Walk: 'Scared'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A post about a peculiar green, bumpy ball spotted on a trail by a hiker has gone viral on Reddit. An image of the bizarre finding was shared in a post by u/Bruh61502, which has amassed over 17,000 upvotes since it was uploaded onto the r/whatisit subreddit on April 22. The post was titled: "I found this thing walking along a trail. WTF [what the f***] is this?? I was scared to touch it." The image shows a lime-colored, brain-like object nestled among leaves. Food scientist Bryan Quoc Le is the author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered: Cook Smarter, Cook Better and founder of Mendocino Food Consulting. He told Newsweek that the mystery object in the Reddit post is the fruit of the Osage orange tree. The Osage orange, whose scientific name is Maclura pomifera, is a deciduous tree native to the southern United States. Though not typically consumed due to its bitter taste and tough texture, the tree's fruit, bark and wood have long intrigued scientists and naturalists alike. The food scientist said the Osage orange "is commonly found natively in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas. But they are grown all throughout the contiguous United States as part of decorative hedges and landscape design." Le added that it is not unusual to find the fruit in an open area along a trail. "They often grow at the edge of woods and rivers, so it would make sense for the tree to be found by a cleared trail, where there would be plenty of sun to grow," he said. "It's possible that an animal may have tried to eat it and carried it further into an open clearing on the trail, away from the mother tree," Le added, noting that "while technically edible, the fruit is very bitter, and few animals consume it." The tree is notable not just for its unusual fruit but also for its resilience. "These are hardy plants that can withstand very serious drought conditions, icy weather, and windstorms," the food scientist said. "The wood is termite-resistant and decay-resistant. Many compounds are found in the bark, wood, and fruit, some of which can be used as antifungal agents or as a food preservative." Historically, the Osage orange tree played a practical role in American agriculture. "The trees were historically used as hedges on the American prairies," Le added. Despite their unappetizing taste and tough texture, Osage orange fruits may still offer surprising benefits. A September 2024 study published in Fitoterapia found that extracts from the fruit "exhibit a range of useful properties to combat human pathologies" and "contain potent antioxidant compounds." The study suggests that these extracts have pharmacological potential in both human and veterinary medicine. Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system. Stock image: An Osage orange fruit lays on rocky terrain. Stock image: An Osage orange fruit lays on rocky terrain. iStock / Getty Images Plus Do you have a travel-related video or story to share? Let us know via life@ and your story could be featured on Newsweek.
