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Name: Upbion (Teuthopropagnum amplexabratus)
Creator: OviraptorFan
Ancestor: Octovinbion
(Teuthopropagnum vinus)
Habitat: Lamarck Subtropical Rainforest, Lamarck Temperate Rainforest, Lamarck Temperate Woodland, Maineiac Temperate Woodland, Maineiac Bush
Size: 25 centimeters across
Support: Cell Wall (Cellulose)
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: ?
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Asexual, Budding Prongs, Spores

Having split off from a population of octovibions, the upbion has taken advantage of the many large species of trees they share the continent of Lamarck with, especially the many kinds of treebions such as the tetrabrachs.

In many ways, the species is quite identical to their ancestors in many respects, such as each of their eight stems growing outwards from a small bulb, which each stem in turn having two rows of conical leaves. While the stems are capable of some basic photosynthetic functions, it's the rows of conical leaves where the upbion gains the majority of its energy from. These do serve the octovibions very well, but this does not exactly work as well when they get overshadowed by larger flora. To deal with this, the ancestors of the upbion began to grow upon those larger flora. The most important change was the root systems becoming much more extensive, boring into the trunks of large trees to maintain a firm hold. The upbion has also shrunk down in overall size so it’s not as heavy which would increase its chances of falling out of its trunk. These adaptations allow the upbion to grow upon large flora, giving the upbion better photosynthetic performance due to not growing on the often shadowy forest floor.

The reproductive capabilities of the upbion are hardly changed from that seen in their ancestor, reproducing either through budding or by spores. The spores still form from the tips of each conical leaf, being carried by the wind until they land on a different tree. From there, an upbion can bud new individuals through the tips of their stems, which allows one upbion to become a whole colony growing all over the tree they had landed upon.

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Alright fellas! Here is my first species of flora in a while, this has also been in the backburner for a few generations! My main problem was figuring out how it would work as an epiphyte, but I think I managed to get a solution! As usual, comments and critiques are highly appreciated!

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Jun 8 2023, 07:53 PM

Does anyone have any constructive comments before I review this?

What do they grow on?

What form of bark do it's hosts have, if any, does this cause selection for the boring instead of finding cracks to hold on to?

By boring in do they make their hosts susceptible to infestations and infection?


This can be turned into mistletoe next gen, but it's actions are already potentially hazardous to trees.

This post has been edited by colddigger: Apr 30 2023, 08:12 AM

QUOTE (colddigger @ Apr 30 2023, 12:10 PM)

What do they grow on? What form of bark do it's hosts have, if any, does this cause selection for the boring instead of finding cracks to hold on to? By boring in do they make their hosts susceptible to infestations and infection? This can be turned into mistletoe next gen, but it's actions are already potentially hazardous to trees.

They grow on trees, as said in the description. Unless your referring to something like what parts of a tree do they grow on and such, in which case can you elaborate on that question?

As for what kind of bark they have, that might be more a question for kopout and Dorite, since the dominant trees in the region were made by then.

As for the roots boring into the bark making trees possibly susceptible to diseases, I got no clue...

This post has been edited by OviraptorFan: Apr 30 2023, 02:23 PM

What trees specifically, not all epiphytes grow on all trees

I guess you could make these grow on all the trees in the area, but it would be good to list those trees in case a new group were to pop up.

This post has been edited by colddigger: May 3 2023, 09:09 PM