Introduction to Extant Flora

This page is under construction.

With so many varieties of plant, algae, and fungus analogues, Sagan 4 can be a botanist's dream--or a botanist's nightmare, with how scattered information on most of them is. Nonetheless, this page serves to introduce each main group of flora.

Purple Flora

Main article: Purple Flora

Tetracone Puffgrass is an example of purple flora.

Purple flora are, largely, exactly as described in their name--purple plants.

Most bizarrely, purple flora are actually a sister group to--of all things--the krakowpedes, which are likewise in the same kingdom.

Humms

Main article: Humms

Lurehum is an example of a humm.

Humms are only distantly related to other purple flora. Their distinctively-shaped leaves produce sound when wind passes through them. They are found on multiple landmasses, but much of their diversity lies specifically in Drake and Ramul.

Poison Flora

Xidhorchia is an example of a poison flora.

Bubbleweeds

Teabag is an example of a bubbleweed.

Main article: Bubble Flora

The bubbleweeds are an ancient group of purple plants which use bubbles filled with hydrogen for flotation. Most modern species are aquatic, though they have extinct relatives that used to form many of Sagan 4's early inland forests.

Puffplants

Carnurtain is an example of a puffplant.

Puffplants constitute many of the seed- and flower-bearing purple plants on Sagan 4. They come in a variety of grass- and sedge-like forms, as well as many kinds of trees and shrubs.

Carnoferns

Main article: Carnoferns

Cartainpalm is an example of a carnofern.

Carnoferns are a noteworthy branch of puffplants which form many kinds of fruit-bearing shrubs and trees. They are named for the fern-like growth of some species, and for their ancestors which were carnivorous, though most modern species are not.

Lightberries

Mainland Chime Slingberry is an example of a lightberry.

Lightberries are varieties of puffplants which have very lightweight berries designed for airborne dispersal. Once diverse, in the modern day they have been whittled down to just a few species.

Ball Flora

Main article: Ball Flora

Strangleroot is an example of ball flora.

Ball flora are so named for their origins as simple, spherical plants which filled a similar role to mosses. Some modern species retain a similar appearance, but others have grown into shrubs and trees. They are the most diverse clade of purple flora on Sagan 4.

Shrooms

Main article: Shroom

Royal Doubleshroom is an example of a shroom.

Shrooms are a subgroup of ball flora which superficially resemble mushrooms and don't perform photosynthesis. Many of them are decomposers, though some are also parasitic.

Orbions

Upbion is an example of an orbion.

Orbions are various shrub-like ball flora which are distinguished by their prominent prongs, which are arranged radially at the top of a typically-robust stem. They range from grass- to tree-like forms.

Fuzzballs

Pioneer Fuzballs is an example of a fuzzball.

Fuzzballs are distinguished from other ball flora by their fuzzy texture. They range from primitive hairy orbs to larger fruit-bearing trees and shrubs.

Pioneeroots

Woodland Watergherkin is an example of a pioneeroot.

Yanisflora

Brieneux is an example of yanisflora.

Crystal Flora

Main article: Crystal Flora

Soma Pyamus is an example of crystal flora.

As their name implies, crystal flora externally resemble crystals. They originated from the same ancient symbiosis which produced worms, consisting of two distinct cell lines, fleshy fungus-like red tissue (forming the core and mycelium/roots) and chitinous photosynthesizing green tissue (forming their characteristic shell).

Shrubites

Main article: Shrubite

Vent Shrubite is an example of a shrubite.

Black Flora

Main article: Black Flora

Obsidiroot is an example of black flora.

Black flora are various groups of multicellular flora and their microbial algae ancestors which have black photosynthetic pigments. They range in form from simple phytoplankton to towering trees.

Spore Sprouts

Salt Sprout is an example of a basal spore sprout.

Contorted Volleypom is an example of a derived spore sprout.

The spore sprouts make up the majority of black flora diversity, ranging from tiny sprouts to towering rainforest trees. Most species are some form of spore stalk.

Obsidian Plants

Cocobarrage is an example of an obsidian plant.

Obsidian plants are various woody trees and shrubs derived from spore stalks. More basal species resemble palm trees in overall shape, effectively just being upscaled spore stalks, and can be found on most landmasses. Descendants of the Lacy-Leaf Obsiditree found in Wallace and Kosemen have fractal branches and in some cases multiple clusters of spore pods, causing them to resemble more typical forest trees.

Droopgeas

Crowngea is an example of a droopgea.

Iron Flora

Main article: Ironplants

Iron Fan is an example of iron flora.

Crescos

Colonial Calmstrum is an example of a cresco.

Crescos are a group of flora that are primarily green in coloration and often have the ability to move. While the vast majority of this group consists of aquatic forms, one group known as the larands are fully terrestrial, being found on every landmass.

Gelatins

Disorderly Gelatin is an example of a gelatin.

Glass Flora

Main article: Glass Flora

Fermi Panelwort is an example of glass flora.

Contrary to their name and superficial appearance, glass flora are made of chitin, rather than glass. These tough, cold-loving plants commonly have lens-like shells which can ignite their surroundings.

Jornflora

Chitjornacle is an example of jornflora.

Gildlings

Hikerflora is an example of a gildling.

Twinkiiros

Twinkiiros is an example of a twinkiiro.

Boneflora

Globby Boneflora is an example of boneflora.

The boneflora are a primarily aquatic group of flora descended from the luminuses. Boneflora can be best described as seaweeds that grow calcified shells. This adaptation earns the group their name since when combined with their red pigmentation, it causes them to look like bones and raw meat.

Flash Flora

Sila is an example of Flash flora.