Vingrasions

Vingrasions split from their ancestor and diversified. Their hubs are even closer to the ground than before, and in fact in some species can be almost completely subterranean. This protects them from predators, which will instead focus on their tall leaves. This makes them somewhat like terran grasses, though they are a long way from really comparing to them outside of superficial appearances.

The leaves of vingrasions are long, symmetrical, and repeating. One side forms a flat blade-like shape, while the other grows another leaf pointed in the opposite direction. They grow one on top of another like this until they break under their own weight, are burned in a wildfire, or are cropped by herbivores, after which they are soon replaced by another chain of leaves growing from the same prong. In open biomes such as the plains and shrubland, they can reach great heights by supporting one another as they grow. They have developed sexual reproduction, the spores formed on their leaves being blown by wind or transported by fauna and depending on water from rain or snowmelt to come together. They also bud, each prong being able to grow a new hub.

Speaking of prongs, another distinct feature of the vingrasions is that not all of their prongs are above ground. Their hubs are placed so low that four of their eight prongs will instead essentially burrow underground, leaving them even more protected from herbivores. Prongs will grow hubs anywhere but only grow leaves when exposed to sunlight, the latter feature also allowing the species to avoid wasting energy producing leaves while, for example, covered by snow. The number of leaves that grow from a prong are highly variable, and while regular intervals like the ancestor are common, they can also be less regular and more clustered depending on the species.

There are many species of vingrasion found in a myriad of environments. During ecological succession, they usually first arrive after annuals. The smallest species are found in extremely harsh environments, such as the desert, tundra, badlands, and alpine. They depend on fertile soil and form clumps in patches of fertility in some biomes. To survive in environments with harsh winters, they survive dormant through their prongs and grow new leaves when summer arrives. Alpine species also make use of excess sugar in their leaves to avoid freezing overnight. Taller species can be found in the plains and shrublands. As the woodlands of Lamarck lack shade trees and are full of sunlight, vingrasions easily thrive on the forest floor, creating a lush understory. It is a different story in the darker forests of Barlowe, where the vingrasions mostly thrive in younger growth lacking in the tall black trees which would suppress them. Some species are also tolerant of brackish water and thrive in the beaches and areas where sediment has gathered to make small islands in the mangals, which aided the genus in spreading to nearby islands and crossing into Barlowe.