Cannibal Tree (Hunter Tree)
Basic Information
Anatomy
These darkly colored trees have a mass of twisting roots on the place of any substantial length of trunk. They don’t have any leaves as they do not photosynthesize, many twisting branches taking their place. While the tree’s roots may appear to burrow deep into the ground, they actually only burrow down a few feet. This is because these odd trees are actually constantly moving their physical location, slowly moving each of their roots in unison like lethargic wooden tentacles. They move too slowly to be seen by the naked eye, but Cannibal Trees can actually move up to 100 or so feet in a day. As they are always moving much more than any normal tree, they often emit creaking and groaning sounds as the wood flexes, which can often be heard amongst the mists of their home planet of Enigmar. Cannibal Trees get their name from their diet, which as one might guess, consists of other trees. They slowly wrap their roots around any tree they happen to come across, engulfing them over the course of many hours. From first contact the tree starts to be dissolved, until there is almost nothing left where it once stood aside from its roots in the soil. Lastly, these trees are surprisingly resilient to temperature and are active year round, making not even winter worlds safe from their roving roots.
Ecology and Habitats
Naturally forests are the ideal place for these tree eaters, but they can survive off of eating grass and smaller plants as well, making roaming across plains and other such viable as well.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
As part of an environmental terrorism campaign, the Dictatorship of Targuard scattered root clippings on many Barupo Federation planets in yet another attempt to cause more damage to the Barupo people’s morale and further the Barupo Genocide. In the process however, they have ended up contaminating several of their worlds as well, including their home world of Targuard.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
These plants are considered an invasive species due to how easily that can contaminate a new area, growing a full new tree from just a small bit of root. The grow very quickly, sprouting up like weeds. As they will sometimes attempt to eat each other though, they often spread out instead of staying in one concentrated area.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Obviously these trees possess no eyes, ears, or nose, instead moving by touch only as they wander around. When many rocks start to come into contact with their roots they often stop and either turn around or follow the edge of the rocks.
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