Skydrift Leafstar

Splitting off from the Tidal Leafstar, the Skydrift Leafstar found a solution to reproducing on land—live birth. It has developed a receptive reproductive organ in its center, which collects airborne spores released by others of its kind in order to create new offspring. Numerous offspring are later released from this organ with a quiet “huff” of air caused by contractions of the only muscles retained in adulthood, the babies then taking off into the wind with long modified frond-like baits along their leaves. The offspring are motile, like in their ancestor, and they are capable of landing, shuffling around on their leaves, and being picked up by the wind again—a feature they use to help them gain nutrients from various ground-dwelling microbes using their roots before they are actually ready to permanently take root, as there isn’t otherwise enough aeroplankton to sustain them. When they reach adulthood, they take root and their muscles and nervous system atrophy except for those used in reproduction, turning them into flora. Although they certainly need to feed during their larval dispersal phase, they don’t have a very high metabolism and are capable of travelling great distances by wind in search of favorable conditions, sometimes even crossing parts of the ocean.