This Nightmare Potato Is a Good Reminder That Plants Are Pretty Freaking Powerful

Plants are powerful. They fuel humans and animals through the day, but they also manage to grow up through the cracks in the cement and over human-made barriers like houses. Nature is strong, and little proves that more than the way fauna can quickly overtake any obstacle in its path — and one particular potato has proven just that. A viral post on Twitter this month shows a potato with its absurd, no-holds-barred coup of an entire corner of a house.

The photo shows an alien-esque mohawk of pink tentacle crawling up and out along the wall, extending feet from the original spot on a small shelf where the potatoes were stored. The post, in French, explains that in three months of neglect, the potatoes (which can be seen still in the plastic mesh bag they came in), pushed “without limits” through whatever barriers they came up against, including the joints between the wall and the shelf above.

Anyone who has neglected a potato or two on their counter for too long, or done an elementary school science experiment to grow a potato, knows the sprouts can come quickly. It’s enough of a classic thing that The Simpsons showed Bart doing a potato experiment, noting that 30 minutes after starting observations it was “Still just a potato.” Guess he just needed to leave it alone a few more months.

Close-ups of the colorful stalks in the Tweet show them pushing straight through the connecting space, seemingly unconcerned by the obstacles in front of it, but doesn’t show the potato itself — which is important in knowing if this nightmare fodder might still be good for eating. You can’t eat the sprouts themselves, but as long as the potato itself is still firm and smooth, there’s no danger in cooking the actual potato. Or you could just remember that potatoes stay good for months at a time, as long as they are not exposed to light or heat.

Read more: 4 Storage Tips to Keep Potatoes Fresh