A flowering plant on Gamma Trianguli VI that turns towards anything moving and fires a burst of poisonous thorns, killing a security guard and wounding Spock in The Apple.
The pod plant is a deadly form of vegetation encountered in The Original Series episode The Apple, set in 2267.
Gamma Trianguli VI looks like a garden paradise, and the landing party is still admiring it when a large blossom swivels towards Crewman Hendorff and shoots a cluster of thorns into his chest, killing him almost at once. Later a second plant aims at Kirk. Spock pushes the captain aside and takes the thorns himself, surviving only because of his Vulcan physiology and McCoy's prompt treatment.
The plants are one of several lethal hazards on the planet, along with exploding rocks and directed lightning, all of them part of the defences of Vaal, the machine that rules the local people. Similar pod-shaped plants, which spray mind-altering spores, appear in This Side of Paradise.