Xichen

460 million years ago Almaishah was a warm planet , with no permanent ice. However, that's not to say that there was never ice, and in the long Arctican winter snow fall, frost, and hail are far from unknown. Across the continent on rocks can be found a fain purplish tint, primarily in the crevaces. Closer examination will reveal tiny plaque like purple growths. These are Xichen colonies, a group of retinalphytes that have a life style similar to earth Lichens. They absorb carbon and water from the atmosphere, grow on nearly anything that provides a long lasting hold, and eek out a meager existence. Pictured here various xichen colonies hang into the crevices of rocks in the highlands of Arcita during a snow storm. [creature design by Dapper Dino]

Basic Information

Anatomy

The anatomy of xenomycosids is very simple. They have filaments that grow through tiny cracks in whatever substrate they live on, and broad flat thin growth section, when a growth section covers enough area it will start sending down filaments to further anchor itself. Xenomycosids use very little water and have an extremely slow metabolism. They grow only at most a centimeter a local year in any given direction, and exist in some of the most inhospitable areas on Almiashah, such as arctic mountains or deep in interior deserts. Those that live in humid environments can grow and reproduce more quickly, but also often produce fowl tasting or even poisonous compounds to deter organisms from feeding on them.

Genetics and Reproduction

Any given xichen colony is likely to be haploid, as all xichens release haploid spores occasionally. Sometimes these spores manage to meet each other and combine to form a diploid colony, which is visually indistinguishable from a haploid colony. The only difference tends to be that diploid colonies tend to be less prone to disease, and can sometimes grow faster. Most of the growth of xichen colonies is vegetative though, and if one section of xichen is disconnected from another section, effectively there are now two colonies, and both can continue to survive just fine.

Growth Rate & Stages

A spore, whether haploid or diploid, can begin absorbing chemicals from the air and substrate right away, and will begin growing immediately upon resting on some surface. Typically those that land on convex surfaces end up being blown away before they can lay down anchoring filaments. It is for this reason that xichens are usually only seen in shallow crevasse in rocks. This allows them less sunlight, but given their slow metabolisms, this is not a problem, they don't need much. A spore will typically be about 2 cm in diameter after a local year of growth. At this point it will begin to give off its own spores continuously through life.