Another of the mountains Sirens luring the unwary to their deaths or dreams of madness.
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This is the magnificent but deadly Thorn Apple.
It was once used in ceremony to commune with the ancestors by the Navajo, Cherokee, and Algonquian among others.
Now, the Thorn Apple is thought of as no more than a noxious weed, and its otherworldly uses are lost in the mists of time.
Here in mid winter, it stands tall and untouched by grazers and shamans alike.
Though the bees seem to care nothing for its fearsome reputation or questing properties as they lazily gather nectar under the lowering sun.
Photo: Thorn Apple at Saladaviciosa. Courtesy of the author.