It sounds like a traveller's tale. Or perhaps the very best of Brit tabloids. But is it true? There are trees that can catch birds. And two new ones have recently been identified in hurricane havoc--and Trump-ravaged--Puerto Rico.
The ripe fruits of Pisonia trees are sticky enough to doom small birds that venture near them. Several species are known from the Indo-Pacific area and to them are now added Pisonia horneae and Pisonia roqueae. Botanically they are from the four-o'clock family, (Nyctaginaceae) and only found in Puerto Rico. Nevertheless, the biodiverse rich Caribbean may yet reveal more such startling discoveries.