Uncomfortable Meetings with Mary

Do not fall in with a Hairy Mary

Whose spines are needle -sharp and scary.

Worse, falling out with a Vicious Mary

Whose prongs play a tune as they stab the unwary.

As for hoping for justice with a Lawyers tongue plenary

His cut with barbed tendrils is quite extraordinary.
If caught, take this rhyme as cautionary
Wait-a-bit, then
Reverse from the thorns; quite contrary.


Rattans,such as the Vicious Mary above, start life as sweet little palm trees but give them some light and they grow long barbed tendrils that wave until they grab hold of a tree or person (specifically they lift the skin in three cornered tears which bleeds a lot) and then they haul themselves up to the light - a palm vine with grappling hooks for hands. This one has a spine studded stem as well. Using other trees for support they can become the tallest 'tree' in the forest, sometimes reaching 200m, so a very successful adaptation indeed!