Tepostone

Tepostones grow from a tough, almost woody pebble-like base. This base has tiny rhizoids on its bottom surface, and tiny fissures radiate from a growth point at the top. If the fissures are in contact with soil, root-like rhizoids grow through the fissures and anchor the tepostone. Dew that settles on the tepostone may flow through the channels and be absorbed by the thin sections of permeable proto-rhizoids. However, this is not a very efficient mechanism, and it cannot survive on dew alone. Like its ancestor, tepostones can lay dormant for months when covered by snow. Its small size and hardy nature allow it to colonize inhospitable areas quickly. In some cases, it colonizes the area even before any hardy global genus species. Unlike the fibrillius, another detritivorous photosynthesizer, it prefers sunny areas and can can grow on thin, rocky soil or even gravel. Where their habitats overlap, they often occur in close proximity to strangleroots and grow at the base of the strangleroot's rock or even between their sprawling roots. Over hundreds of years, the strangleroots break down the rock into gravelly soil ideal for tepostones. The tepostone reproduces by shedding its leaves, which then sprout into new individuals. The resulting leaf scars can resemble fissures in its rocky base. The population is sparser in Vivus Tundra. They have replaced their ancestor.