SOURCE: The Nemesis From Terra by Leigh Brackett (1961)

DESCRIPTION: "...'There were many of us when the world was young,' droned the answer. 'We grew in the green jungles. We ruled Mars before man could walk erect...'" (The Nemesis From Terra by Leigh Brackett)

NOTES: The intelligent flowers Rick Urqhart encounters in a pit in Valkis are the last remnants of a race of thinking planets who predate humans on Mars. They have been reduced to being an evil amusement for the People of Valkis. They possess a perfume that kills through hallucination. Smoking tobacco allows Urqhart to counter this effect.

HISTORY: The Black Lotus of the Conan stories, with its hallucinogenic properties, may have inspired these plants. Also several stories by Edmond Hamilton also use intelligent plants.

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