Levitree

Levitrees are a type of plant unique to the 'Terra Lost' Universe's Earth. They are one of the three primary types of flying/floating "plants" currently known to exist.
Levitrees have a special heartwood that allows them to 'float' in the air. It's generally assumed that they have some form of Telekinesis, allowing them to 'push off' the ground and thus float, much like Hexapyro species do (which is also how Levicoral and the Levimimics work. Hot Air Balloon Plants work in a very different manner). This form of telekinesis (maneuvering one's self in relation to matter, esp 'pushing off' the planet or another super-large object) is generally referred to as Antigrav.
The larger the tree, the stronger the antigrav, the more weight it lifts. Only the wood and roots have this 'antigrav' ability, the leaves and bark have no 'float' potential (indeed the weight of the leaves weighs down on the branches, which is why the branches tend not to be 'raised' or pointing up). The trees 'carry' their dirt (and any stones/organic matter) with them with 'cage' like roots, which form a fine mesh along the outside of the 'root ball', fine enough to generally keep any sediment from escaping, let alone anything larger.
When a tree is a sapling it's on the ground and is a very small sapling, and most of the trees early life is spent growing the roots deep and wide. A sapling the size of a hand will have a root 'ball' of 12 ft minimum. When the root ball is large enough to support the adult tree, the sapling will start growing FAST, and as soon as it's big enough, it'll start generating lift. When it gets big enough it'll rip it's chunk of earth up and take it with it into the air. Levitrees will not row any larger once they lift free of the ground, so most species will spend as long as possible growing their root system to carry as much 'food' with them as possible. Usually they drop a long and deep tap root, then the roots grow out from the top and bottom of the tap root, slowly forming a massive ball that the roots of the adult tree will slowly grow into up in the air. The levitree will die when it 'eats' all of the soil/contents of it's root-ball, however the tree's life can be extended if new material (such as a nutrient rich mud slurry) is introduced into the root-ball.
Oddly, the wood retains its antigrav properties even when cut and milled, although living wood has about six-times as much lift, with the lift slowly being lost over the course of (on average) a decade. This makes levitree wood very popular with Sky-Sailors, who prefer to build as much of their ship hulls as possible out of levitree wood. Fortunately for the survival of levitrees... It is quite possible to grow them in a modified form of forestry, planting the seeds in a plot of ground, then attaching them to your established 'forest' via vines, ropes, or chains once they get large enough to float. When winter comes, the trees are dragged down to the ground and harvested. Levitree harvest-forests can be something staggering to see, as you will often see a massive forest of hundreds of trees, hovering over (and held in place by massive, and often ancient, chains) massive open-pit/open-cast quarry mine a quarter mile or more deeper, and often a couple of miles wide.
As Levitrees are floating often quite high in the air, they are designed for cold weather, high and regular winds, and low water/drought like conditions. They tend to be surprisingly stout, generally being about only two or three times taller than they are wide, usually with thick 'gnarled' bark to provide protection from the wind and to prevent moisture loss. They are evergreens, with conifer 'needles' instead of broad leaves, with the leaves trending towards blue, purple, or red in color.
There are a few distinct 'forms/subspecies' of Levitrees

• 'Sky-Willow' types: Usually has purple or blue leaves that absolutely cover it's long, thin, hanging 'whip-like' branches and pale bark that ranges from a silver to white in color. Tend to be middling in height off the ground, but also have the largest, widest, root-balls. Some sky-willows can be of a size that people can (and have) built homes on their broad bases. Sky-Willows also tend to have the weakest/worst wood, and are rarely harvested for lumber. Sky-Willows can grow to gargantuan sizes, with the average 'smallest' ones being 30-60 feet in height, and some growing as large as 140 feet... with rumors of larger specimens. Sometimes you will see some of the smaller sky-willows in a 'grove', with many levitrees having grown close enough together (in location and time) that their root-balls intertwined, creating a long pad of floating land with several trees atop it
• 'Sky-Well' types: Usually has red or purple leaves which grow in bunches from it's branches (which sprout from the top of the thick trunk, oven forming a dense rounded 'cushion' shape). Sky-Wells tend to store water in their trunks... both by absorbing and holding it in a fibrous layer that grows between the heartwood and bark... and holding water in the hollow 'well-like' cores which have openings at the top. Sky-Well's can swell massively, sometimes even being called 'sky-potatoes' or 'sky-spheres'. Like Sky-Willows, they tend to be a weaker/less desirable type of wood (although the wood is superior to the Sky-Willow, being a much harder wood less prone to warping, knots, and the like). They are 'middling' in size, but tend to float the lowest/closest to the ground due to the weight of water that they carry. They're often used as water sources by Sky-Sailors.
• 'Sky-Spruce' types (Also called 'Sky-Cedar', or sometimes 'The Celestial Tree'): Usually has blue to blue-green leaves, and grows in cone, pillar and ball like shapes, with the branches present along the full length of the trunk, often growing in a radial spiral pattern. Tend to float the highest off the ground, often with surprisingly small root-balls for their size. They have the widest variety in size... with some Sky-Spruce only being 6 feet tall... and others reaching nearly 60 feet in length... the current tallest Sky-Spruce known had a 66 foot tall trunk. They tend to produce a good, straight, strong (if slightly soft) wood and grow the fastest out of all levitrees. With proper handling at the sapling stage, a tree of 50-60 feet in height can be almost guaranteed. Their leaves are edible and high in vitamin C, making them an excellent way to stave off scurvy. They're also nutritional and (like their seeds) high in complete proteins and fatty acids. The hops like seeds are especially healthy, high in proteins, sugars, and fatty acids. The bark can be peeled off and used to make fiber comparable to hemp or flax. It's highly sought after for clothing, paper, and especially rope. The roots are also edible, although rather sour/bitter... however they have antibacterial properties that make them popular for medicines... and for beers (as there are no hops in Lostverse). A person 'marooned' on a Sky-Spruce floating island would be able to survive indefinitely, and every part of the Sky-Spruce can be used and is indeed useful, if not vital, to life in the skyways... which is how it has earned its name as the 'Celestial Tree'.

Scientific Name

Coniferophyta Celestia

Origin/Ancestry

A species of primative confier, likely of the Cordaitales Order, which through unknown means developed the ability to generate a Telekinetic 'push' against the ground, allowing them to float high into the air.