Basketrunk

The basketrunk split from its ancestor the flufflestalk. The gamma ray burst has left some defective genes within the DNA of many of the exposed flora on sagan 4. These genes do not always manifest in the first generation. In the flufflestalk its extreme mutation was having two plants grow from one plant and fuse together to create the basketrunk. This new species thrived because it had two cotton-like fluffs. These fluffs contains spores and allows them to be carried off by the wind.

Unlike its ancestor its was better suited for a dryer environment and thrived in the scrub and savanna like its distant ancestor the speckled berry plant did. The basketrunk is the equivalent of having two plants in one and thus grows double the leaves its ancestor could. Growing its trunk in a basket formation also allows for the winds to blow through the plant and thus can stand up to even stronger dust storms in the dry season. Many creatures seek shelter in this hollow trunk to seek relief from the hot sun or predators at night.