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Name: Windcatcher Plyent
Ligniflabellatus ventus

Creator: HeathrJarrod
Ancestor: Suncatcher Plyent
Habitat: Drake Bush, Artir Temperate Coast, Artir Temperate Mangal, Soma Temperate Mangal, Coolsteph Temperate Mangal
Size: 1.5 m tall
Support: Unknown
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Unknown
Thermoregulation: Unknown
Reproduction: Sexual, Airborne Spores, Two Genders


The most significant change that the Windcatcher Plyent from its ancestor, the Suncatcher Plyent, is that the top rotates. It spins around driven by the wind on an axis-stalk.

This axis-stalk rests in a chamber where the Windcatcher Plyent stores water to survive in the arid environment. Something its ancestor did not have. Some rust microbes infected this chamber, and disconnected the base of the axis-stalk. When the wind catches the leaves and spins the axis stalk, the rotation causes many things to happen.

The spinning of the axis-stalk draws up water to the leaves through a system of veins, acting like an archimedean screw. The rotation of the axis-stalk also causes the magnetic alignment of the rust microbes to be peturbed, causing an electric current to flow into the rust microbes, giving them enough energy for them to form glucose, which the windcatcher plyent uses as an additional source of energy.

Reproduction

Near the end of the windy season, the Windcatcher Plyent will stop spinning. It will then release airborne spores. These spores will land on other Windcatcher Plyents that have also stopped spinning. The leaves will fold up, creating a chamber around the fertilized spore, filling up with water, rust microbes, and nutrients.

During this time, while the new Plyent is growing, there is not a lot of wind.

When the new Windcatcher Plyent is large enough, its tip will poke through the top of the chamber. Just in time for the winds to pick up again. It's leaves will then unfurl, catch the wind, and start producing glucose for the rest of the Windcatcher Plyent. A particularly strong wind can lift the top two segments, where they will land and start growing into a new Windcatcher Plyent. For the Plyent left behind, the topmost segment will unfurl near the end of the windy season to begin the growing process anew.



This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: Sep 30 2022, 07:23 PM

How did this disconnection evolve without going through a phase of not being able to transfer nutrients between the leaves and stem before the archimedean screw evolved?

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 25 2022, 08:09 PM)

How did this disconnection evolve without going through a phase of not being able to transfer nutrients between the leaves and stem before the archimedean screw evolved?

It was originally a space that was able to hold water, extra nutrients.



The pathways to the top section were already there.

Then the rust microbes infected this reservoir. Cutting off the top part with the leaves from the rest of the stem. Because its new base was resting in a nutrient rich bath, the top part was able to survive.

How are the rust microbes getting iron?

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 25 2022, 09:40 PM)

How are the rust microbes getting iron?

Iirc most parasitic rust microbes like this have the plant pull more iron from the soil.

should it have a different ancestor?

This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: Sep 26 2022, 05:34 AM

I don't think this mechanism would really work with any ancestor. You keep saying it "makes sense" on the Discord but it really doesn't. Wheel mechanisms only evolve in microbes for many reasons, few or none of which are compensated for here.

just throwing it out there, what if they took the slow route and tried achieving something like this through a symbiote?

Perhaps if the two disconnected parts would start as two separate organisms they can evolve to work over the gap, maybe start with a parasitic relationship and evolve into mutualism, exchanging resources through a liquid medium or pores or even some sort of mouth that connects and disconnects depending on the wind...

It could take several generations but would be a really cool project and give them the time to work on the kinks on the way.

I'm not sure what species you'd pick for these.

Wrong timeline, but this is a good example of a potential precursor to something like the Windcatcher Plyent:


https://sagan4.miraheze.org/wiki/Palmcap

This post has been edited by Jarlaxle: Sep 28 2022, 06:22 PM

Do you plan to fix this? @HethrJarrod

QUOTE (Disgustedorite @ Sep 30 2022, 09:47 PM)

Do you plan to fix this? @HethrJarrod

I want this to be an organism that can be approved

This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: Sep 30 2022, 07:04 PM

I don't think this organism works in its current state. It's seemingly evolving live birth and a novel dispersal method completely out of nowhere from broadcast spawning with no transition. The nutrient transport method also is not convincing, and it should not be able to get enough iron for its iron symbiotes to produce enough electricity to serve as an energy source in its environment.

Spinning as a method of dispersal is better than what it was before at least, but it needs a transitional form to do that, and the energy generation by a separate spinning part should be completely cut.

I'm going ahead and rejecting this for the reasons listed above. Please make a transitional form before resubmitting.