Sagan 4 Forum [Menu]

Name: Ringbarks (Annulocortex spp.)
Creator: Cube67
Ancestor: Bladebark
Habitat: Barlowe
Size: 1.5 - 6.4 meters tall (not including inflorescence)
Support: Cell Wall (Cellulose), Woody Stem
Diet: Photosynthesis (Sun-Loving to Partial Shade)
Respiration: Passive (Stomata)
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Sexual (dioecious, airborne spores, viviparous (airborne propagules))

Being some of the tallest flora in Barlowe at the time they first evolved, bladebarks in open areas were already growing and competing in a manner somewhat similar to miniature trees. However, it was only after the End-Binucleozoan Atmospheric Disturbance that this group would be able to truly proliferate. Competition between bladebarks led to rapid speciation. Some of these species would simply grow taller and taller to get the best access to light. Others would begin to cope with increased competition, growing proportionally larger leaves and slowing their metabolism. On that note, most ringbarks have some degree of shade tolerance, but some are more specialized for it than others. Shade tolerance generally decreases with age.

Ringbarks have a characteristic phenological cycle that separates them from their ancestors. Each year of a ringbark’s life, one new segment is produced at the ringbark’s equivalent of an apical meristem, with most of its growth occurring when the ringbark receives the most light (i.e., in the summer). This rule is essentially constant across species, with faster-growing species having proportionally taller segments. The only exception is in the first year of a ringbark’s life, during which multiple segments may be produced.

Additionally, most ringbarks are deciduous. Ringbarks that drop below a certain temperature in late fall will resorb all the nutrients in their leaves and inflorescences and drop them, remaining dormant until the next spring, when they regrow their leaves. However, most species living in the tropics and subtropics don’t fall below their respective thresholds, retaining their leaves year-round and simply slowing their growth during colder months.

Ringbarks are dioecious, meaning that each individual flora may be either male or female. Males look the same as females, except that they lack an inflorescence and produce microgametes on their leaf tips during early summer. Females have a tall inflorescence which generally begins growth in the spring and sheds in late fall, even in tropical species. Fertilized inflorescences produce millions of very small (0.75 - 1.75 mm) propagules (“seeds”). As in ringbarks’ ancestors, these propagules are small and light enough to float on the wind, and have additionally gained a highly flattened elliptical shape to increase their success in this regard.

Good job. At a quick glance, I can’t see any glaring flaws with this entry.