Purpine

Purpine split from its ancestor in Darwin by colonizing inland and adapting to colder winters. Increased incorporation of biosilica into vascular tissues has allowed this organism to grow taller and wider, forming a canopy or dominating the understory in much of Darwin Taiga and some southern areas of Darwin Temperate Woodland. While stands can be quite dense, most sunlight still reaches the ground due to the skinny stems and branches adapted to slough off snow. Unlike its ancestor, purpine has a deep taproot, up to 1.5 meters, and a small fibrous auxiliary root system near the soil surface. Despite this root depth, individuals cannot re-sprout or produce clonal offshoots. The accumulation of dead individuals of this species promotes wildfires which can wipe out entire stands.

Each spring, a new whorl of 3 scraggly, alternating branches develops at the apical meristem. In the fall, a wind-pollinated inflorescence much like that of its ancestor grows and produces seeds which mature slowly, falling and spreading mid-winter. Seeds have thicker coatings and can survive fire. If the stem is broken below the apical meristem, the organism can persist for several years by devoting growth to branches which may begin to droop to the ground and occasionally break. Otherwise, individuals typically live several decades before dying of accumulated damage or competition with younger conspecifics.