Plyentree
From Sagan 4 Alpha Wiki
| Plyentree | ||
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| (Venterpotatorus acervi) | ||
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| Information | ||
| Creator | Colddigger Other | |
| Week/Generation | 27/166 | |
| Habitat | Wallace Tropical Rainforest | |
| Size | 2 m Tall | |
| Primary Mobility | Unknown | |
| Support | Endoskeleton (Jointed Wood) | |
| Diet | Photosynthesis, Detritivore | |
| Respiration | Unknown | |
| Thermoregulation | Mesotherm | |
| Reproduction | Sexual, Mucus Bound Spores, Two Genders | |
| Taxonomy | ||
| Domain Superkingdom Kingdom Subkingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species | Eukaryota Viridisagania Mancerxa Phytozoa (info) Phylloichthyia (info) Pododendronta Saltotruncia Venterpotatoridae Venterpotatorus Venterpotatorus acervi | |
| Ancestor: | Descendants: |
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The Plyentree split from its ancestor to take on a more terrestrial lifestyle. They've redeveloped their singular eye for the sake of navigation. Despite having become more terrestrial, it's limbs still require a consistently moist environment in order to absorb nutrients. This leads to the larval form seeking out mud and bogs and seeps and other areas where standing water or consistent moisture exists to rest on or sink their limbs into and mature.
The reality of areas being better or worse for this use resulted in larvae accumulating in certain spots far more densely than others, resulting in piles of the small organisms attempting to reach the mud where it's wettest and push the others out. Quickly what resulted was the discovery of another source of moisture, The remnant cavities inside their neighbors.
The body of the plyents were not suited for the expulsion of their sudden intruders, but if they became too weak due to the extraction of moisture and nutrients then it became problematic for those that were feeding off of them. This rapidly selected for a two-way street where nutrients taken up by those directly in the mud was able to pass through the thin membranes of their internal cavity and the membrane of the limb stuck in them, and the passage of photosynthesis products back down to them for absorption.
This development of cooperation between individuals meant that they could just continually pile on top of one another to create larger and larger colonies. The limbs and body of a mature Plyentree are long and twist and wrap around their neighbors in order to secure the structure. The majority of photosynthesis occurs across the surface of the long body.
Reproduction is still performed with sexual spores, but rather than being released into the air The masses are oozed out in a thin mucus that dribbles down from the orifice of the Plyentree, down its sides and limbs, eventually into the orifices of those beneath it. As the spores join to form a zygote, which develops into a free embryo, the mucus it sits in is shifted from thin and runny to thick and nutrient rich. It grows to about the size of a marble then leaves the safety of the orifice and slides and tumbles down the side of the colony to the ground. Scampering off it will continue to grow, seeking light and water, and eventually settle into a new permanent home. Finding a young colony to clamber to the top of is preferable, being middle of the colony grants reproductive mucus the most mates to trickle down to before becoming too dilute by other members, while also allowing the Plyentree to grow larvae off its own directly. If no other colonies can be found it may settle into mud on its own, until another larva stumbles upon it to join and gradually form a fresh colony.