Frootbunch

This peculiar type of soilpod has undergone some interesting changes. Their main crystalline body has become more flora-like, and contains more chlorophyll than its ancestor. Its coloration has also become a little closer to the orpiment or the goblin jewel, which helps a little to deter it from predators. Other than that, though, most of the change to its central crystal is only mildly beneficial genetic drift.

Instead, however, its large success comes from the change to its fruit. Duplication of the upper part of the fruit has caused it to become a bumpy, raspberry-like structure. Each one of these “berries” contains a crystal “seed”, vastly increasing the chance of reproduction and spread while minimizing the cost. They now more specifically target smaller fauna like sentrok, as they are small enough to take individual pieces of the fruit and spread them all over. However, larger fauna do eat them too (and usually in one big bite, which can lead to competition between multiple different frootbunch that grew from the same small dung pile). Their previous adaptations are also more developed, as the larval “seeds” are now almost impervious to digestion while still being able to sprout, and their scent is now almost irresistible to small arthrotheres. Its bright colors also make it very easy to spot from a distance, along with its smell.

Its advantage over other rootfroots have made the other species much less common, as they now face heavy competition with this flora and each other. The extinction of the swinetrok and hogtrok would mean a death sentence for some of the more primitive rootfroots and vice versa.