Botryrophis

Botryrophises, or "snakegrapes", have long, somewhat flattened roots with bifurcated tips, bringing to mind the tongues of snakes. Their root tips penetrate the roots of tinsel quillballs and siphon nutrients. Relative to the tinsel quillball, botryrophises are neotenous. They developed from their ancestor's parasitic phenotype of germinated spore conglomerates, or "germinats". While the parasitic germinats were parasitic only temporarily, botryrophises are parasitic all their lives. Though it gains all of its sugars from parasitizing tinsel quillballs, it collects its own water and minerals from the soil. Like its ancestor, botryrophises live for two years, reproducing in the second year. In cool weather, it produces grape-shaped "fruits" from an otherwise inconspicuous aboveground trunk. The "fruits" are actually specialized, spherical leaves stuffed with spores. These fruits are thickly coated in hairs with fishhook-like tips. These hairs allow it to cling to the hair or feathers of passing fauna, spreading it beyond its parent flora. While the spherical spore leaves resemble tiny purple peaches and thus look appetizing, the spore-leaves have virtually no food value, as they are mostly fibers, fuzz and dusty spores.