Umdhlebi

Umdhlebi is an unverified species of plant said to originate in Zululand, South Africa. It was first reported in Nature on November 2, 1882 by Reverend G.W.Parker, who claimed it was poisonous.

According to Parker, the Zulus would sacrifice sheeps and goats to the tree to calm its evil spirit. As of 2010, no specimen of the Umdhlebi has been recovered, and other than anecdotal evidence from the 19th century, no further verification is known to exist.

Characteristics
Parker stated that there were two species of Umdhlebi: one a shrub and one a tree. The tree is described as having large, lanceolate, fragile, green leaves and a peculiar looking stem, with a dead outer layer that hung off the tree, and a new living layer underneath. The fruits are described to be black pods with red on the end, hanging on branches like small poles. The shrub species is similar to that of the tree species, but has smaller leaves.

Effects
Parker said that the Umdhlebi poisoned animals that approached it so that the process of decay would fertilize the soil in which it was growing, which is usually barren or rocky, yet fertile, ground. Symptoms of the poison from the Umdhlebi reportedly would get headache and bloodshot eyes, followed by delirium, and finally death, or would instantaneously die without delirium. Parker mentioned that the fruit of the tree could be collected for an antidote to the poisoning. Parker never actually identified the source or nature of the poison, but hypothesized that it secreted a poisonous gas from the soil around its roots.