Parasitic Branch-Lantern

The parasitic branch-lantern has adapted from a freestanding lifestyle to one of clinging to the undersides of tlukvaequabora (Tlukvequa amayulvdi) branches. The species gains nutrients and sugars from the host, while also retaining its own photosynthetic mechanisms.

The branch-lantern has reduced its number of buds from multiple to a single hanging mass from which it produces long sticky droplets laden with spores. The organism relies on bioluminescence and the appealingly nutritious quality of its droplets to attract fauna such as bora scuttlers (Scuttleresta scandtecto), stowaway harmbless (Mostli herbivorussinecrus), and various Tamshrew species which consume and brush against the droplets, thus transferring spores onto themselves and transporting those spores elsewhere in the great tree. Conversely, the petals, bulb, and stalk of the organism have become tougher and have developed astringent qualities to dissuade those very same visitors from consuming the main body.

The spread of the Branch-Lantern from its ancestral habitat on Jaydoh Island has been directly tied to the presence of Tlukvaequabora in coastal waters throughout the region. Spores rafting upon fallen Tlukvaequabora limbs have allowed the Branch-Lantern to gradually colonize more distant Tlukvaequabora stands.