Greater Sporeflower

Replacing its ancestor, the greater sporeflower is both very similar and very different then the sporeflower. In order to better spread its genes, the greater sporeflower gains a bright red color during fall, that attracts the sporivorous dartir, which feeds on the spores released from the flower’s surface, but carries away many more stuck to its body. These spores drop off while it is flying about, commonly landing on other greater sporeflowers, which recognize that the spore is from a different individual and adsorb it, mixing the genes from the foreign spore with its own. Once winter comes, the flower folds up in order to prevent damage, but does not die off, instead opening again in spring with a dark grey/black photosynthetic surface that persists until fall, when the flower turns red and produces spores again.

In order to support its large size and spore production, the greater sporeflower has a wide, but shallow, root system that breaks down organic material. These roots commonly wrap around those of larger flora nearby, breaking down the outer surface of the roots while they are alive, and decaying them completely when they die. Should the flower be eaten, it can be regrown, but will usually not produce spores for a year, however, in order to prevent this from happening, the flower produces a slight poison that causes the throat of plents that eat it to swell, not causing death but certainly unpleasant enough to deter most would-be consumers (sporivorous dartir, not being plents, are immune to this).