Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Anatomically Correct Whomping Willow

+0
−0

The whomping willow is a fictional tree from the Harry Potter series of books. It is a magic willow that can move its branches to punch people who come close to it.

It is probably plotting something evil

Small animals such as cats and rats can approach without much worry; Anything human-sized or larger gets whacked. As for how strongly it can punch, one of the books has this quote in it:

"People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it."

"”Remus Lupin

It also has a small knot near the base. Pressing it causes the tree to become immobilised, at least for a few moments, so it is safe to stay close to it. I don't think the books ever mention how long that lasts.


What I would like to know is the closest thing to that we could have, in a fictional world, without magic (hence the tag). Doesn't have to be a plant per se: it can be a fungus or anemone. It just needs to be a living, sessile thing.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/153662. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

0 comment threads

0 answers

Sign up to answer this question »