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Name: Palmstar (Spinophyta dentros)
Ancestor: Thornshell
Habitat:
Seedpods: LadyM Tropical Ocean (Sunlight Zone), Mnid Ocean (Sunlight Zone), Jujubee Ocean (Sunlight Zone), Fly Tropical Coast, Hydro Tropical Coast, Jlindy Tropical Coast, Ofan Tropical Coast, Sparks Tropical Coast
Adult: Fly Tropical Beach, Hydro Tropical Beach, Sparks Tropical Beach, Steiner Archipelago Tropical Beaches, Jlindy Tropical Beach, Ofan Tropical Beach,
Size: 3 meters tall
Support: Cell Wall, Trunk Shell (Silica)
Diet: Photosynthesis
Respiration: Passive Diffusion
Thermoregulation: Ectotherm
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite, Airborne Spores, Pod


The palmstar split from its ancestor.

Isolated in the Ramul and Steiner islands, the palmstar has grown into a tree of moderate height of 3 meters. It then spread far beyond to Jujubee's tropical shores Its appearance vaguely resembles a palm tree of the planet Earth. It now utilizes silica in its black algae tissue to provide greater structural strength. This silica shell also absorbs the sun's light to generate a small electric current. The center is hollow, storing salt water as a way to store electrolytes and have a rigid trunk.

The spikes of the shells have tiny bands of darker and lighter layers. The dark bands have about thirty layers, while the lighter bands have half that. The outer dark layer has tiny microscopic grooves, shaped in the just the right way to trap light, focusing it further in to be absorbed. The outer lighter colored layer has bumps which increase its surface area for absorption. Both of these layers have properties that prevent reflection and trap light in a chemical called xanthopterin. A voltage is formed between the lighter colored layers, increasing with the amount of light. A similar type of system exists in a oriental hornet of the planet Earth. The creation of static electricity results in the palmstar pulling dust and other tiny ionized particles from the air, increasing nutrient availability.

The palmstar is made up of years of growth. Every year the palmstar releases spores into the air, which land on the leaves of other palmstars. Once a palmstar receives these spores, it starts producing a large coconut size pod which falls off into the sand or water. It is then carried elsewhere. The first section is usually the one supporting the whole thing. On that section, the silica spike grows excessively long, anchoring the palmstar to the ground. After a pod is grown and detach, the leaves fold downward and become the next segment of the trunk. New leaves are then grown.

During storms, the palmstar can get knocked over entirely. When this happens, the spikes from the sections are spurred into overdrive, growing into the sand to provide more support. The end of the stalk will reorient itself to grow in an upright position.

It takes about 3 years for a palmstar to reach maturity, and can live for 25 years.


Supplemental Image: Support Structure



This post has been edited by HethrJarrod: May 31 2023, 04:15 PM

There's presently a limit on how many active submissions a person can have per project. You have significantly more than six active submissions right now.

EDIT: Since this is a contest/challenge entry, this can be excused. You still have a lot of active submissions now, though.

before review;



the existence of silica as a support aid in the black algae structure should be elaborated on.

The photosynthetic system is just going to be used for energy molecule production (ATP NADPH, and those used to power the production of long term storage Glucose, Oil, Inulin etc.).

Oxygen will be made in water cracking, and hydrogen can be made as well (though free protons H+ is more common and more useful on a cellular level beyond antioxidants).
I'm not sure why these are mentioned

maybe you were going for a fuel cell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell

which would be pretty cool, I'm curious how to get an organism to pull this off on a macroscopic stage.

In the discord you brought up the production of electricity from sunlight in a wasp.

https://asknature.org/strategy/pigments-absorb-solar-energy/

If that's the direction you're wanting to take it then it ought to be elaborated on, or at least a gesture in reference to the wasp cuticle structure so that people curious can find the inspiration material.



Because the zapping provides a detritus clump for nutrient sourcing this brings to question how it gathers the nutrients for it.

From the ancestor it would seem passive nutrient absorption as seaspray or seawater crosses its surface. No roots. Purely surface.

So it would be a possibility that this is true for this as well.
Which isn't a problem, just needs to be stated that the stuff sticks to the surface of the organism.

This actually brings up a fantastic reasoning for the electrical production across its surface.
Attraction of charged particles in the air, and seaspray, would mean the attraction of potential nutritional ions.

https://www.botanicare.com/hydro-101/select...ent-ion-uptake/

having spikes for both attraction positive ions (cations) and negative ions (anions) would actually be super important. Short circuiting between the two would be purely happenstance for a tiny critter.



This also brings up an equally important things, which is anchoring. These need significant anchorage to stay upright, that needs to be established.

Roots are ill-advised, but you could have basic continual growth of the spines along the lower segment into large scoops that fill with sediment. Mention that the lower sgment gets buried as the ground around it shifts, maybe. And as some flavor you could mention that often they do fail and crash to the ground to become food for opportunists.



In the section about reproduction, I would clarify the position of the pod in relation to the leaves during development. Also, when the leaves begin folding downward, specify if this is happening while the pod is still attached, or if it is after the pod falls.

Also, it would be good to consider elaborating on an internal support structure, as currently the black sections along the organism in the drawing is not good enough to support it alone.

Added supplemental image for support structure

A brief response, if you're going to use water in the center as a support system for this, my advice is to not have any air between the segments where they're holding the water. Air is compressible and you are placing a bucket of water on a balloon. Have the water storage be continuous, or have it fill the entire chamber with no air remaining. Either of these options will fulfill the need for an uncompressible fluid for support.

Fixed image to have no air in the support chamber

It would be a good choice to add in the description, after describing the way in which their spikes produce an electric charge, the why for this happening. A simple solution would be the creation of static electricity or the result of pulling dust and other tiny ionized particles from the air in order to increase nutrient availability. This has the double whammy of being able to be added to the air sifter challenge.

QUOTE (colddigger @ May 31 2023, 09:46 AM)

It would be a good choice to add in the description, after describing the way in which their spikes produce an electric charge, the why for this happening. A simple solution would be the creation of static electricity or the result of pulling dust and other tiny ionized particles from the air in order to increase nutrient availability. This has the double whammy of being able to be added to the air sifter challenge.

added

Moving this back since it’s a contest entry