Notes on ‘Legend # 36 of Exhibition Catalog “Perygosas do Imperyo”’

In 1921, the Royal University of Porto, upon direct recommendation from Queen Maria III, very dedicated to Arts and Culture, promoted an exhibition of specimens of fauna and flora from all territories where “the sound of the Portuguese language had been heard”. In short, the queen born on the American continent had crowned the entire world. And because words are dangerous, I would conclude, it will be dangerous specimens that it must consist of. In this exhibition, among examples that provoked astonishment among visitors and calls for repairs from the national and foreign press, one example particularly caught the attention and is still the subject of rumors today. Brought from the Namibe Desert, south of Angola, the Welwitschia mirabilis specimen, a symbol of resistance and perseverance in surviving, is impressive with its meter height and gigantic leaves. The specimen had indicated in its caption that it was dry and adequately prepared for exhibition, hence, it was with amazement that we began to notice that during the night the leaves of this dead plant continued to extend, dividing exponentially, until reaching the limits of the display glass. Slowly, during the night, knocks began to be heard, coming from the plant display. One of the night guards claimed that the plant was trying to break the glass to escape, not like a vegetable but an angry animal, and resigned. Fear began to spread in the city and with fear came an increase in visitors. The exhibition’s Curator chose to remove the specimen from the exhibition, and it was officially announced that it had been burned in one of the ovens in the University’s workshop. However, witnesses assured that neither on that day nor for a week did the University’s ovens work. Until the end of the Northern Monarchy, after the exhibition had been replaced and nothing was left of it, every now and then the night guards reported that they heard light knocks, as if leaves hitting glass windows. An explanation for these sounds has never been found.