Bushy Thornplort

Bushy Thornplort
Creator	OviraptorFan
Information
Status	Extant
Common Name(s)	Bushy Thornplort
Zones	F, H
Roles	Producer
Classification
Genus	Akiplortatus
Species	Akiplortatus durirubus
Evolution
Date	February 8th, 2022
Ancestor	Akiplortatus spineesa
Descendants	No results

With the Miniplorts as the dominant polyphs in North Chamegia, Akiplortatus spineesa was disappearing due to competition. The Plort was taller than the Miniplorts when mature, they grew slowly while Miniplorts grew quickly outcompeting the A. spineesa for light. This pushed the last surviving populations to adapt, becoming a distinct species.

5 feet tall

The Bushy Thornplort (A. durirubus) is tiny compared to their ancient ancestor, reaching full size quickly and start breeding sooner. The Bushy Thornplort grow larger leaves to maximize photosynthetic area as they grow under the shade of Miniplorts.

To deal with predation and various parasites, the Bushy Thornplort has become extremely spiny. While this does slow down its growth somewhat compared to Miniplorts. This makes it painful for a herbivore to try and take a bite out of it while the sheer density of spines makes it difficult for smaller species to reach it, though species 8 centimeters or smaller are able to get around the spines.

The vines are also covered in spines, though they are noticeably less dense than on the rest of the polyps. Flowers still grow and bloom in the early wet season, before dropping their seeds. While many of the seeds get consumed by local herbivores, some of them survive and become new Bushy Thornplort.