BALUCHISTAN CENTURY PLANT
Classification: Terrestrial flora (century
plant) (late 1940s era)
Creator: Inapplicable
User/Possessors: Jonas Morpheo
First Appearance: Young Allies I#20/1 (October, 1946)
Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Baluchistan
Century Plant, despite appearing to be a small palm, is very likely a member of the
Asparagaceae family of flowering plants. The
Baluchistan Century Plant is extremely long lived and flowers once a
century; this is one aspect that differentiates it from other century
plants in that it is long lived and flowers more than once. Although
little known, its seed pods are prized for their hallucinogenic effects
during sleep after inhaling the fumes of water infused with its ground
pods; of
note is that its effects can be manipulated due its ready interaction
with other ground ingredients. The Baluchistan Century Plant grows well
in a semi-shade
environment and, with careful watering and maintenance, can be kept as an indoor pot
plant with
its shallow root system. One mature sample stood at around 5' in height/
History:
(Young Allies I#20/1 (fb) - BTS) - The Baluchistan
Century Plant gained a reputation for the hallucinogenic properties
influencing dreams from inhaling the fumes of its ground seed pods.
New York-based eccentric shop owner Jonas Morpheo came into the possession of one such
plant, carefully maintaining it indoors in a large barrel pot in
filtered light. With the plant's 100-year flowering cycle arrived,
Morpheo harvested its seed pods. Morpheo ground the Century Plant's
seed pods with other ingredients and spices, thereby influencing the
type of dreams experienced (potentially manipulating the dreamer's
experience in the Dream Dimension). Morpheo sold these mixed powders
from his Curios shop, his reputation spreading by word of mouth and
he priced his dream spice mixes according to the type of dream desired.
(Young Allies I#20/1) - Morpheo sold the dream
powders to customers. Murderous criminal Mayhem Monk forced Morpheo to
pass dream powder that would show him how to commit a successful
robbery, but this drew the attention of the Young Allies team (Bucky,
Jeff, Knuckles, Toro, Tubby, Whitewash Jones). Chased, Monk dumped a
large amount of dream powder in boiling water that knocked out several
of the pursuing Young Allies. Concerned for his unconscious friends, Bucky had Toro
incinerate the Morpheo's Baluchistan Century Plant with his flame.
Comments: Created by Otto Binder, Syd Shores, Allen Bellman, Vince Alascia.
It's assumed Baluchistan is the region from where the plant came from (Balochistan (also spelled Baluchistan) is a region now occupied by Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan), although century plants are indigenous to warmer parts of North America. Presumably Morpheo still had unground seeds and may have been able to germinate a new plant. Regardless, it is unlikely this was the last of its species (although flowering once in a 100 years means little opportunity for the plant's natural seeded distribution; perhaps it relied also on propagation or new shoots like other century plants).
The real-life Agave americana
is also called a century plant and typically lives 10-30 years,
flowering at the end of its life (although new shoots continue its
growth). Its hard spiked leaves sprout from the base and do not appear
like the palm-like fronds of the Baluchistan Century Plant (while palms
have much longer lifespans).
The Young Allies' initial comic adventures were later retconned in the Young Allies Comics 70th Anniversary Special (2009) to be fictional retellings of their real adventures, so this story's accuracy is left up to the reader in this case.
Thanks to John Holstein for the main image.
Thanks to the Grand Comics Database for credits info.
Profile by Grendel Prime.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Baluchistan Century Plant has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Young Allies I#20/1, p2, pan2 (main image)
Appearances:
Young Allies I#20/1 (October, 1946) - Otto Binder (writer), Syd Shores
& Allen Bellman (pencils), Vince Alascia (inks), Stan Lee
(editor)/font>
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First posted:
04/08/2023
Last Updated:
04/08/2023
Non-Marvel
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