Sagan Ivy

Creeping Jade’s ability to make above-ground roots and adhesive were very advantageous in its spread, creating a strong pressure to get better at climbing up tall flora. Over time, this crystal had become a rapidly-spreading menace in the forests of Barlowe.

Sagan Ivy has not quite managed to replace its ancestor, but has made it much rarer. This is in part due to its superior ability to climb tall flora and block out their sunlight, a feat which Creeping Jade was only beginning to achieve. Sagan Ivy does not trail on or below the ground, only extending roots there in order to get nutrients or to reproduce. Its crystals are not individual units so much as they are an extension of the root material that they are attached to. However, if a single crystal is cut off along with some root material, it can become a new vine.

Not relying on detritus as much as its ancestor did, its rudimentary poison now only serves to make this flora have a very bad taste, preventing it from being regularly eaten by herbivores. The vine-like roots are now defended by a thin layer of chitin produced by binucleusphotoedo cells derived from the outer layer of the crystals.

The crystals themselves have changed shape dramatically. They have reverted to having a rectangular symmetry, roughly in the shape of stretched-out octahedra. These crystals are produced more often on parts of the flora that are exposed to sunlight, as expected.