Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things
This link, featuring “number three in a series of object-eating trees” is strikingly similar to the image on the last page of this book by the inimitable Berkeley Breathed. Since “Red Ranger Came Calling” is a holiday-themed tale, it might be a good time to re-read it.
(Since the tree is identified as being on Vashon Island, where Breathed’s book is set, this would seem to close the loop.)