Aquarium Polyph

Aquarium Polyph
Creator	CheetoLord02
Information
Status	Extant
Common Name(s)	Aquarium Polyph
Zones	M
Roles	Producer
Classification
Genus	Seruceius
Species	Seruceius aquarius
Evolution
Date	April 28th, 2019
Ancestor	Unknown
Descendants	Slurry Aquarium Polyph Visceral Thermos

This polyph grows in zone M, and reaches a height of 20cm tall. It has a fairly simple structure, consisting of 4 rigid stems that arch around and meet at the top. These stems all have one large leaf growing at the base. Between the stems, a thick, transparent membrane exists. The purpose of this membrane is to hold water within it. The water is sourced from deep underground, and the polyph uses its large thick roots to absorb as much water as possible. Xylem in these roots transport the mineral-rich water up into the interior of the membrane. This water serves a number of purposes for the polyph. The water, coming from deep underground, contains many of the rich minerals that help boost the growth of the polyph. The water from inside is supplied to the leaves via large veins that link directly to the polyph’s tank. However the main purpose of this water is to retain heat for the polyph. While zone M nearly never drops below freezing, it can still get quite cold. However, as water is great at retaining heat, all of the heat absorbed from the sun during the day radiates back out at night, keeping the polyph warm. This extra warmth helps the polyph grow more steadily, with the cells not needing to slow down in cold conditions.
This polyph reproduces fairly infrequently, only releasing a maximum of 20 new seeds per year. The seeds have an iron cross esque shape, and they grow beneath the parent polyph’s leaves. They are released in heavy rainfall, and the rain helps pull them to new locations. The young polpyhs start with one stem growing from each arm of the seed, with all 4 joining up as soon as they break the surface. The membrane forms shortly after, and as the root grows deeper the tank fills with water.
They grow at 10cm height per year. The cells get nutrients mostly from the water, however they also are able to get glucose from the photosynthetic cells through their cell membranes, this is just a slow process (partially why they have such slow growth)