Ango Vine (āyn-gōh Vine)

Ango Vine is a dangerous plant that typically grows in and near the golden seas of the Aurrus Sais, which is where it gets the golden color of it's leaves from. The danger it poses comes from it's tendency to send extremely invasive roots into the hull of a ship, which both damages the structure of the vessel, and slows it down considerable, putting additional stress on what may be tightly rationed supplies.
It is a hearty plant, able to regrow from even the smallest section of root, and can spread out by a foot and a half in every direction per Hesperian "Day".

Rumors

It is often rumored that the Cennas have some sort of lifecycle connection to the Ango vine, though the only specific component of this interaction is that the Cenna seem to be attracted to the presence of the vine (likely to the abundance of prey animals that nest within its roots). Sailors serving on ships that are discovered to have Ango Vine growing on it will often panic and treat the removal with a very high priority, fearing that extended time with the Ango Vine on their hull will draw the Cenna ever closer.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Once it has engulfed the rooting structure, it will continue to grow to a final spread of around 30-80 feet radius around the supporting object. The longest viney roots will trail under the colony at lengths of up to 200-300 feet long, absorbing nutrients from the sea as the plant moves along. While the widely spread leafy vines float near the surface, absorbing light from the sun.
A colony is a vast network that consist of three different types of vines.

Type A - Anchor

The thick and rope-like Anchor vines are the core support structure of the plant. They are around the thickness of a human thumb, and are dark purple in color. They grow across the surface of any object that they come in contact with and will burrow into it with thin wispy hairs. This burrowing action is often responsible for causing leaks and fractures within sailing vessels that find the Argo Vine growing upon their hull.

Type B - Root Structures

The long trailing roots grow directly down from the main body of the Anchor vines, hanging gently in the sea and absorbing nutrients found within the Aurris Sais seawater. These limbs are by far the longest vines that the Ango plant produces, reaching a few hundred feet in length, they also provide cover for other aquatic wildlife which tends to nest within it's sprawling mass. The roots are usually a light golden brown in color, and are broad and flat, reaching four to six inches across and only a quarter of an inch thick.

Type C - Leafy Vines

The Leafier vines are grown out from the upper levels of the plant and produce the long, oval-shaped leaves that absorb sunlight from their position near the surface. The center spine of the leaves contain small air bladders that provides buoyancy to the leaf and overall plant. These leaves lay flat across or near the surface of the water, and are a bright golden color, much like the water of the Aurrus Sais, the Golden Sea that they are native to. Each individual leaf is of similar width and thickness to the roots, though they only reach around two feet long.

Genetics and Reproduction

Breeding

Fully Mature Ango Vine colonies will, when conditions permit, begin to grow a few dozen woody stalks tipped with seed pods above the upper layers of the colony. Once fully grown, the seed pods begin to harden and dry, angling themselves upwards and away from the center of the colony. Eventually the woody structure of the eventually pops open with significant force, propelling the seed containing pods at distances up of three to five hundred feet away.
Before the stopping of Hesper's rotation, these seed pods were typically grown and launched near the end of the planetary day period. The seeds launched from the pods would remain dormant floating among the seas until the return of the sun would warm them up and cause them to germinate again into a new colony. Since then, however, seeds begin germinating after only a few days after launching.

Growth Rate & Stages

From the initial anchoring of a germinated spore against the hull of a ship, the Ango Vine goes through three distinct growth and behavior phases.

First Phase

The Ango-Vine Spore will first anchor itself against the hull of a ship. Over the next few days, the growth is slow as the Ango Vine focuses on spreading the anchor vines across the side of whatever it has attached itself to. The vine is fully capable of growing back from just these anchor roots, so cleaning and repair operations must watch for burrowed attachment points.

Second Phase

Once a section of a type A vine is fully established, it stops sending out feelers for new ground to expand to and will begin to start growing out some Type B, but mostly type C vines. It is these initial leafy vines that are usually the first sign of trouble for ships sailing through the Aurrus Sais.

Third Phase

An average ship infection takes about a full week to reach Phase 3 of an Ango Vine infection. At this point, the colony is fully established and is fully capable of growing 1.5 ft per day in every direction. Broad and heavy Root vines begin to put considerable drag on the ship, smaller ships are only slowed down, larger ships may be forced to stop completely in order to cut away the vine.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Use as an Intoxicant

"It's a tragic fate. We know humans as the species that likes to get as firkle'd up as possible as often as possible and in as many ways as possible, but they can't be snared. *single sad clack of dominant claw*"

Unknown Kegani Sailor

Ango-Vine, when not growing on a ship at sea, is sometimes cultivated for harvesting as an intoxicant by many Hesperian species. It causes a mild euphoria, decreased anxiety, some minor visual hallucinations, sedation, and impairment of cognitive, motor, and sensory functions. The most common method of ingestion is blending a spoon-full of the vine's Type C leaf structures into a small glass of water or other liquid and drinking it quickly like a shot. The vine takes effect within a few minutes, and typically last for 4-6 hours. Repeated dosage amplifies the effect and extends the duration of symptoms. Of notable exception to this effect is Humans, whom only suffer some mild indigestion and flatulence while their bodies process the mixture.
Sailors and Sea-Faring cultures refer to someone under the influence of the drink as being "snared". While habitual, chronic, and long-term users are "tangled up" or "overgrown".
The danger of the plant growing un-checked on the hull of the ship weighed against entertainment of sailors causes many ship captains to ban the substance on board the ship. Sailors are also often superstitious about the ability of the vine to attract the Cenna, and sailors who do consume are thus typically secretive about their use.

Geographic Distribution

• Aurrus Sais, the Golden Sea