Krynoid

Overview

Krynoids are invasive alien plants whose pods initiate an infection that transforms a human host into a growing carnivorous organism. The television serial follows two recovered pods: the first threatens an isolated research station, while the other reaches the collection of botanist Harrison Chase. Rapid growth moves the threat beyond a single transformed body toward an environment in which human beings become vulnerable prey.

The licensed audio Hothouse gives cultivation a different motive, placing the creature in biodomes under an environmental activist's plan. These treatments make misguided human guardianship part of the danger as well as the organism's parasitic biology. Claims of benevolent conservation cannot undo what the plant does to its hosts. This is one species profile across distinct television and audio productions; it does not count each infected person or growth stage as a separate creature.

First appearances & development

The Seeds of Doom (1976) introduces Krynoids; Hothouse (2009) revisits them in licensed audio. The selected 1976 television treatment is the narrative baseline. Hothouse — The Eighth Doctor Adventures provides the later treatment named in the bibliography. Licensed audio and prose can develop their own emphases, which are not silently merged into these scenes.

Canon & continuity

BBC Studios' linked story synopsis supports the depicted dimensional intrusion and danger to people. The bibliography identifies the actual writer and selected production. Claims made by characters and inferred histories are kept separate from events directly depicted; one official guide does not establish all versions of the organism.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   The Seeds of Doom

   Robert Banks Stewart · 1976

   Six-part television serial: two pods, human infection and Harrison Chase's growing Krynoid.

2. 02

   Hothouse — The Eighth Doctor Adventures

   Jonathan Morris · 2009

   Licensed Big Finish audio released April 2009; an environmental activist cultivates a Krynoid in biodomes.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. OfficialKrynoid — official franchise guideResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. OfficialHothouse — licensed Big Finish synopsis and creditsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.