Sheltered Pagoda

The sheltered pagoda split from its ancestor when some pagoda crystals spread out to the harsh Darwin Alpine. The lack of level terrain resulted in them decreasing in size. Its physiology has changed due to the environment. The topmost terrace is made of transparent, insulating chitin and covers the entire organism as a "shelter" against the cold. Two rows of pores line the top of this shelter; the top bottom row transports atmospheric reactants needed for photosynthesis and the top row expels the waste products as well as excess heat. Individuals live for ten years, reproducing every two years at the beginning of the warmer months. Like its ancestor it produces its spores on the underside of the terraces, however once this step is complete it will take a week to degenerate part of the bottom of its shelter-terrace (indicated by the dotted line on the picture) and then drop its spores to be wiped up by the mountain wind; they release their spores in a single burst and then immediately begin regrowing the bottom part of their shelter, which takes 3-4 days. Germinated spores take a year to fully grow.