Colony Crystal



As the Binucleus Crystal Shrub continued to evolve, some specimens exhibited an above-ground mycelial network. This network ultimately proved advantageous to the species as it exposed the fungal mass to the open ocean, where it had greater access to detritus and cells. The enzymes of the binucleus stella dodecahedron have now been put to greater use, as the mycelial network of the colony crystal exudes those same enzymes as means of incapacitating its prey. However, the network has no means of capturing the dead cells, and instead relies on the sheer number of prey items falling on its mycelial network as a rather makeshift means of capturing its prey. Once on the network, the cells are then digested. Because of this inefficient means of capturing its prey, the colony crystal retains its crystals. However, instead of having one large crystal, it possesses many smaller crystals, increasing the surface area of its photosynthetic biomass. These smaller crystals have the capability of developing sporangia-like organs at their tips, where the organism's spores are created and released. The organism can also reproduce when torn apart, with the fragments of the network taking root wherever the ocean takes them. These networks, while usually one meter in diameter, can fuse and form enormous beds of crystals on flat seafloors, given that they are not disturbed. Old-growth crystal beds tend to look like vast plains of spiky crystals, with virtually none of the red fungal material being visible. Specimens tend to be smaller when growing on objects such as rocks, with specimens usually being only a third or fourth of their maximum size.