Trifold Bristlestalk

The trifold bristlestalk is a tall flora hailing from the northern forests of Glicker. It has further specialized for a photosynthetic lifestyle, as well as having some novel adaptations for other purposes. Its upper tagma has become a branching ‘crown’, which helps to reduce its weight, increase surface area for respiration, and avoid damage from wind. Its lower segment has elongated into a long trunk, which does not have much chlorophyll, instead retaining its warning color. Due to the instinct of avoiding bristledaggers already being present in most Glicker fauna, it no longer needs as much venom. While it does not produce nearly as much toxin as its ancestors, it does retain sharp bristles to deter predators.

This flora has managed to spread a decent amount, with some populations even having adapted to the harsh tropical scrublands. Though it does use more energy to grow than its ancestor due to its size, the bristlestalk is able to reproduce faster and more efficiently than the large and cumbersome petrolignum flora, some of which take many years to grow due to their bone-like armor and large size.

Trifold bristlestalks are not quite solitary, but do grow somewhat far apart in order to avoid competition. While they cannot communicate, bristlestalks do have a large array of simple ‘behaviors’ stemming from chemical signals. Due to the large amounts of toxic crystal flora on Glicker, they have evolved a highly developed immune system to flush out dangerous toxins from other orpiments. A primitive liver-like tissue in the flora’s roots filters out poison, and special enzymes stored in their stalk can denature some toxins. This high poison tolerance allows bristlestalks to grow right in the middle of patches of other orpiment flora, which helps protect it from predators and grants it access to spots it otherwise couldn’t live in.