Fermiblades

As the inland areas of Fermi were completely barren aside from taxa found within genus groups, it presented an opportunity for anything living around the coastal beaches, deserts, and southern tundras to thrive with no competition at all. While for fauna the area still is a bit too barren for colonists to settle, for local flora it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. One of the first colonists of these inland areas is a split from the Polarblades that moved away from colder parts of Fermi as well as its temperate beaches, known as the Fermiblades.

In many ways it's the exact same as its ancestor, sharing many of its anatomical traits as they suited it well for the relatively cool and dry inland areas of Fermi. For example the waxy insulating outer covering of its leaves still provides protection from the elements by retaining precious water and heat. The leaves are also still serrated, making them painful to eat for the local species Minikruggs that might otherwise try to feed on them. The waxy coat still tints the leaves to a darker shade of purple.

The reproduction of the Fermiblades is pretty similar to their ancestor, being able to utilize both sexual and asexual reproduction to create the next generation. The species can still release spores into the air, which can be carried quite a distance until they land in the center of another Fermiblades and fertilize it. After that, the individual will grow their singular shining seed, which attracts certain species of Minikruggs that bury their food for storage. If they are left uneaten, the seed will grow into a whole new Fermiblades. The species can also still breed asexually by growing new individuals from their root systems, which in turn helps them rapidly colonize new areas in a similar fashion to how their ancestors settled the inland areas of Fermi in the first place.

The most prominent difference seen in this species, even if its minor, is its much greater height, having become over twice the size of its ancestors. This not only makes them the largest species of the genus Valadanis yet to have evolved, it also makes them much bigger than any competing flora in the area like the pioneeroots or the sunstalks and thus gives them a competitive advantage. The success of the Fermiblades clearly shows, as the areas they live in are covered in vast fields of this species. The dominance of this violetgrass will however not last forever, as while its the first species of flora to colonize the areas of Fermi, it will not be the last.