Leatherskin Asterplort
The Leatherskin Asterplort, or Leatherskin, is named for its new development: a tough outer stem covered in many pebbly, keratinous scales. The keratinous skin also extends to its photosynthetic arms, to a lesser degree, and gives the impression of leaf veins. Its leaves have a leather or plastic-like thickness and texture, something like magnolia leaves. These leaves' narrower shape reduces water loss. A greyish, powdery, bitter-tasting wax on the leaves also protects the leaves from ultraviolet light and further water loss. Unlike its ancestor, it has ten leaves, not eight.
Despite all these adaptations, it is surprisingly delicate for a desert flora. It lives only on the shores of minor rivers, lakes, and oases within the desert itself. It also requires some shade to “sprout”. This is typically the shelter of large rocks, but can also be a stand of nearby Leatherskins. Its young retain their muscles for longer than usual for its lineage, allowing the young to “clench” their leaves. This allows the young to avoid direct sunlight, cover briefly-exposed patches of bare skin on its upper trunk against curious Twistworms or Wortopedes, or reduce heat loss in the cold in the Orpington-Vailnoff Montane Watershed environment.
Leatherskins shed many of their keratin scales throughout life, but the leathery skin underneath prevents water loss. Its scales produce a sort of leaf litter or mulch that reduces water loss from the soil, eventually making an area more bearable for itself and any of its kind. The scales also provide a microclimate more favorable for desert-adapted Twistworms and Wortopedes. The scales are tough and not especially nutritious, making it difficult for any detritivores of its time to eat.
When Leatherskins die, they gradually shed their scales, leaving a thick (if less well-armored) skin. With no large predators or detritivores, the Leatherskin's corpse can last for a while, and so feed small fauna for months.
Combined with its pretty hot, arid environment, the scale litter can last for many years and accumulate to a pretty thick layer where Leatherskins grow in stands. Scales swept away into bodies of water in flash floods of the desert may decay comparatively faster, fueling low levels of microbial activity with their nitrogen. The scales may also be buried completely under zero-oxygen mud, creating a record of particularly catastrophic floods in quiet oases. At time of evolution, Leatherskin scales are one of the most common fossils in its habitats, and thick layers of Leatherskin scales are a nearly foolproof way to determine an area was once an oasis.
Reproduction
Males produce spore-like gametes at the tips of their leaves, which are carried on the wind and received by female Leatherskins. As both the male and female Leatherskins lack specialized structures for spreading or catching spores, it's an inefficient method unless they live in patches. They largely reproduce by fragmentation, but they cannot voluntarily shed their leaves. As such, it is a slow-spreading, somewhat rare organism, found largely in rock-studded lowland areas.
Occasionally, Wortopedes and male Twistworms climb up the trunks of dying Leatherskin Asterplorts to munch on the exposed stem tissue of the trunk. Spores get stuck on their bodies, and, provided they leave for another Leatherskin quickly, they can carry the spores pretty effectively.