Spiny Tuftweed
Predation pressures from Anoculophans and Rostraceans on Aruraherba wetrilli caused individuals that were able to dissuade muscals from eating them were able to survive longer and produce more young. This led to the evolution of a new species.
80 centimeters tall
To deal with the many predators of the region, the ancestors of the Spiny Tuftweed (Aruraherba spiniferatoherba)] developed a waxy covering on the leaves, which would make them harder to digest for anything that tries to eat them. Then, the older leaves close to the ground became thinner and more akin to thorns. The thorny lower leaves would help prevent Anoculophans from eating them, as they would get pricked every time they tried to consume the polyph.
Much like their ancestor, the Spiny Tuftweed is primarily adapted to live in wet areas such as swamps and river, though they can survive in drier habitats due to their waxy coverings. Further inland, however, the Spiny Tuftweed then faces competition from species such as the Heavy Tuftweed and consequently does not thrive outside of moist areas.
The Spiny Tuftweed still grows up to 80 centimeters in height to avoid being submerged in water during flood, since they do not photosynthesize well when submerged due to the lower amounts of light. Much like their ancestors, the Spiny Tuftweed has roots that grow to 80 centimeters in length to get as much nutrients as possible in the soil it grows in.
Due to growing in nutrient-poor soil most of the time, the Spiny Tuftweed still takes a bit to grow, getting to their full height within 13 weeks. Like its ancestors, the Spiny Tuftweed reproduces by growing seed pods and by spreading runners which grow new polyphs. They can connect their root structures to other polyphs of their species to share nutrients which promotes the survival of all involved individuals.
Predation pressures from Anoculophans and Rostraceans on Aruraherba wetrilli caused individuals that were able to dissuade muscals from eating them were able to survive longer and produce more young. This led to the evolution of a new species.
80 centimeters tall
To deal with the many predators of the region, the ancestors of the Spiny Tuftweed (Aruraherba spiniferatoherba) developed a waxy covering on the leaves, making them harder to digest. The older leaves close to the ground became thinner and more akin to thorns. The thorn-like lower leaves would help prevent Anoculophans from eating them, as they would get pricked every time they tried to consume the polyph.
The Spiny Tuftweed is primarily adapted to living in wet areas such as swamps and rivers, though they can survive in drier habitats due to their waxy coverings. Further inland the Spiny Tuftweed faces competition from species such as the Heavy Tuftweed and consequently does not thrive outside of moist areas.
The Spiny Tuftweed still grows up to 80 centimeters in height to avoid being submerged in water during flood, since they do not photosynthesize well when submerged due to the lower amounts of light. Much like their ancestors, the Spiny Tuftweed has roots that grow to 80 centimeters in length to get as much nutrients as possible in the soil it grows in.
Due to growing in nutrient-poor soil most of the time, the Spiny Tuftweed still takes a bit to grow, getting to their full height within 13 weeks. Like its ancestors, the Spiny Tuftweed reproduces by growing seed pods and by spreading runners which grow new polyphs. They can connect their root structures to other polyphs of their species to share nutrients which promotes the survival of all involved individuals.