The triffid is a fictitious tall, mobile, prolific and highly venomous plant species, the titular antagonist in John Wyndham's 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids and Simon Clark's 2001 sequel The Night of the Triffids. The name was originally spelled trifid and pronounced "TRY-fid". The name means three-lobed, referring to the three root/legs. Fid comes from the Latin -fidus meaning divided.
Triffids have a straight stem, springing from a woody bole which is shaggy with little rootlet hairs. This bole is roughly spherical with three bluntly-tapered projections extending from the lower part. These can dig into the soil to function as temporary roots.
At the top of the stem is a funnel-like formation which has a tightly-wrapped green whorl within resembling a rolled fern frond. This whorl is sticky and can lash out at passing animals. It carries a sting which can kill a full-grown man; the poison is carried in sacs at the base of the sting. Although not described in the book, John Wyndham's illustrations (see below) show three stamen-like stalks within the cup.
They have three small, bare sticks which grow straight up beside the stem. These "clatter sticks" create a rapping noise which is considered to be some form of communication. It is clear from experiments that they can hear or, at least, sense vibrations in the air. There are also short sprays of leathery green leaves.
At the age of one year, they reach a height of approximately half their full growth which averages a little over 2 meters/7 feet in Europe, reaching a maximum of about 2.4 meters/8 feet. In the tropics, they grow taller and quicker with a maximum height of 3 meters/10 feet.
Triffids are the only known plant capable of ambulatory movement. They can lift themselves about 30 cm/1 foot off of the ground on the three projections on their boles. They walk rather like a man on crutches, sliding two projections forward and then lurching so that the third comes level with them. At each 'step', the stem whips violently back and forth and the leaves rustle noticeably. The speed is about that of average human walking pace.
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