Rotpod

This small flora has gone above and beyond its ancestor – quite literally. Rotpods mainly subsist on one or two large dead flora, usually ones that have already been killed and drained by a grey crystalbane. They have also become far less dependent on local fauna, and actually have a number of defenses against them. Their “fruit” grow on tendrils suspended on the dead flora that the Rotpod subsists on. These fruits are also poisonous, dry, and full of bristly spines. Despite all of this, certain swinetrok will sometimes still try to eat them, often ending in pain for the poor arthrothere.

The dryness and thin bristles on the fruit do help with one other thing, however: locomotion. Strong winds are able to roll the dry little fruit around, letting Rotpods spread faster than they would normally. Rivers and floods are yet more effective at this, as they are most certainly light enough to float on water. However, as a result of the fruit’s dryness and inedibility, the embryonic Rotpod inside is now attached to a small, endosperm-like supply of nutrients from which it feeds. This increases the chances of the fruit’s survival and prolongs its lifespan.

While the adults mostly rely on large dead flora as stated before, the juveniles are more greenish and rely on photosynthesis to start growing.