Crystal Bush

The crystal bush split off from the Binucleus Crystal Shrub and developed a bone-like “trunk” made of mineral material interlaced with cells which it cannot use for its crystal layer, especially opaque minerals; the trunk’s color tends to coincide with the color of local rock in the sediment, ranging from black to grey to brown to a sandy color. The trunk, as well as the “petrification” of its upper roots, serves to help hold it in place, allowing it to grow much larger and on much steeper slopes than its ancestor. As the process of developing its trunk requires more energy, it is less common in deeper zones than its ancestor was, as it needs at least some sunlight to get sufficient energy rather than being able to thrive exclusively on dead organisms; as a result, it is consistently green in color.

It is otherwise very similar to its ancestor; it has a fungal core protected by a thick layer of chitin, with a layer of photosynthesizing cells and a mineralized layer of cells and crystal coating it to give it its distinctive crystalline appearance. It has an extensive root system to collect dead organisms buried in the sediment, and it reproduces sexually using water-borne spores.