Tinsel Quillball

The quillball shrub's quirk of having spore-stuffed leaves has led to its descendant's tendency for its leaves to germinate while still on the parent. These form tinsel-like roots, hence its name. While the leaves can still be detached by winds or passing fauna, much of the time it relies on pseudo-parasitic "replacement" in which its offspring occupy roughly the same spot as the parent once the parent dies.

The tinsel quillball lives for two years. It grows during the first year and grows many spore leaves from short branches, as its ancestor does. Unlike its ancestor, the first-year leaves have no spores. During the second year, it loses its leaves and grows new ones. These are filled with spores. Once fully grown, the leaves are "walled off" from receiving nutrients from the parent. A loss of water is a signal for the leaves to start germinating. They must reach a water supply in the ground quickly, for they die when they run out of water. Interestingly, different leaves have different "strategies." Some leaf conglomerates stop by younger leaves with more water left, growing into the leaf and siphoning off the water before continuing. Others don't, putting all resources into fastest possible growth to the ground.

Since each leaf is packed with many spores, each spore (usually genetically identical) works together to create a root. On some occasions, the spores' genetic code differs slightly from each other, leading to chimeric root tissue. Once the roots reach the ground, they spend some time gathering water and nutrients. After this, the cells become slightly less cooperative, attempting to grow sprouts all at once, as if some bizarre alien-flora cancer. However, only one manages to grow an above-ground tinsel quillball. The others' sprouts eventually rot. The "leader" quillball cell line succeeds by a sort of intimidation: it produces chemicals that stunt the growth of its compatriots. Once it forms a sprout, the boost of energy from photosynthesis allows it to completely dominate its "siblings", curing its "cancer" by producing chemicals which, in a sense, command its siblings to remain root tissue and not develop sprouts. Though the siblings themselves cannot reproduce, they are not in a bad position, for the "leader" quillball cell line is either genetically identical to them or very closely related, so by helping the leader they pass their own genes along.

While the "leader" quillball cell line is genetically identical or practically genetically identical to the others from its leaf, it might express that genetic code differently through epigenetic changes or simply have better access to water in the soil than its compatriots by sheer luck.

Another reproductive quirk of the tinsel quillball is natural grafting. When two leaf conglomerates reach the ground at roughly the same time, they can grow sprouts that are close to each other. As they grow in diameter, they easily fuse. (As seen in the image above, where one half of the tinsel quillball is a slightly different color from the other.) This is possible because inter-root "hostilities" end once sprouts are formed, so sprouts easily cooperate as they once did to make tinsel roots.

Eventually the parent dies and rots, providing abundant fertilizer for the "victors" that helps their swift growth.