Candletower

The candletower lives on the dunes of Fermi Temperate Beach, and sometimes far enough from the ocean to live on the border of the Fermi Desert. It stores great amounts of water and starch in its immense cashew-shaped tuber. The tuber has a thin cork-like layer that grows in roughly circular patches. Roots grow from a growth node in the center of each patch. (the roots are not included in order to show the tuber patterns) The roots may form small secondary tubers. If they do so, it's highly likely that another candletower will arise from the secondary tuber. Once the candletower sprout is between 30 to 40 cm tall, the stolon disintegrates, making the daughter clone independent. The candletower has two kinds of leaves. One kind grows directly from the stem, becoming hard, sharp spines with a bead-like shape. The other kind grows close to the ground at the border between the tuber and stem. These thick, sharp leaves perform most of the flora's photosynthesis. The leaves can shrivel and fall off in drought conditions to conserve resources. When the rains come, the candletower regenerates the leaves. (Dew caused by sea fog will also suffice if it causes enough dew to form on remaining leaves.) Whenever there is rain, the spore chamber rapidly splits into four "petals" and sends out an orange plume of spores. Smaller quantities of water cause it to reproduce by stolons instead.