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It is my hope to convince you that more elaboration of the pioneer Quillball, and some of its descendants, such as the Quaxaca & Quillfence that it would make a LoT of sense for them to have formed a symbotic relationship with some form of rustbiota.

1. Effective lignification required iron containing enzyme perioxidase. These organisms show a stronger-than-usual lignification. Using rustbiota symbiosis might help explain how the got the iron.

2. This iron can be used to produce quills and thorns which would make these parts harder to digest & wear down the teeth of herbivores that eat it.

This is not an elaboration, it is a retcon. Not only that, it's a retcon that limits what biomes they are capable of surviving in and makes several species impossible to have ever existed, including actual members and ancestors of the lineage. I don't think I need to wait for Mnidjm to say this is instantly rejected.

QUOTE

This is not an elaboration, it is a retcon. Not only that, it's a retcon that limits what biomes they are capable of surviving in and makes several species impossible to have ever existed, including actual members and ancestors of the lineage.

How?

Pioneer Quillball: Uses iron to make quills
Pioneer Quillprong: Uses iron to make quills

It may not be via some rust microbe but somehow this plant uses excess iron to make thorns and quills… and to boost its lignification

HethrJarrod, achieving iron-fortified quills is probably possible, but you'll need to start from scratch. I recommend consulting the information I have given you on the best ways to achieve your goal. As things are, if it uses trace quantities of iron, it wouldn't be enough to have truly iron-fortified quills, no more than supposing a human has internal iron plating simply because the human contains a lot of iron in the human's blood, muscles, and liver.