Purplevine

Supporting your own weight is a drag. For photosynthesizers there's a struggle between the metabolic needs of creating support tissues and the advantages of becoming bigger allowing for more surface area to allow for more photosynthesis. Some organisms solve this problem by using the environment for support. This results in the typical vine structure. On Yama some descendants of boseo have gone this route, attaching themselves to rocks from which they grow upward, allowing them to take in more sunlight without bothering with woody parts. [Creature design by Dapper Dinosaur]

Basic Information

Anatomy

Purple vines are in most respects exaggerated versions of boseo magno (Phytomicos magno) They consist of a bulb buried into the substrate, from which roots extend; a stem, which forms the bulk of the organism, and extends up along nearby rocks; and the leaf structures which extend from the stem starting a few dozen centimeters above the ground. The stem excretes a glue like substance which on the side away from the substrate simply dries into a thin skin that helps prevent water loss. On the side in contact with the substrate it helps adhere the organism to whatever it is "climbing." The bulb serves as a water and sugar reservoir, drawing in nutrients during the day and sending them out to the rest of the organism during the day. Unlike most modern vines on earth, the growth pattern of purple vines does not involve branching, a single stem with leaf shoots is all that occurs normally.

Genetics and Reproduction

The primary form of reproduction is vegetative, with the root system extending up exploratory shoots which will grow into a new stem with its own bulb. If it does not encounter a vertical or near vertical surface the new shoot will not grow much beyond a few centimeters. However if it does find a vertical surface it can grow to be several meters long. purple vines are also able to reproduce sexually. During the spring some of the leaf shoots will start to shed copious amounts of windborne sperm cells. Other leaf shoots will swell into bulb like structures with large pores and when the sperm cells encounter these bulb like structures they fertilize seeds held in the bulb. The bulb will after about 5 local days fall off as a dry husk. The wind will blow this husk around and scatter some of the seeds.