Manarystal (Atriclivulus manessimma)
Creator: HethrJarrod
Ancestor: Flattened Gigarystal
Habitat: South Darwin Alpine, South Darwin Highvelt, Wallace Volcanic, Central Darwin Rocky. Winter-only: Central Wallace Veldt, Wallace Plains
Size: 1m tall stacks
Support: Chitin (Cell Wall)
Diet: Radiosynthesis (Melanin), Detritivore
Respiration: Passive Diffusion
Thermoregulation: Heliothermy (Melanin)
Reproduction: Spores

The manarystal has outcompeted and replaced its ancestor, the flattened gigarystal. It was able to outproduce and took over the spots that it’s ancestor grew in.

The manarystal has traded its ancestor’s width for height. It stands as stalks a meter in height. The last third of the stalk composed of thin plates stacked on top of each other. These plates are roughly 20cm wide and less than a centimeter thick. In the center of these plates is a pair of Manarystal spores.

These plates are made by the manarystal using a type of photosynthesis called Radiosynthesis. Melanin in the manarystal absorbs energy across the spectrum and eventually this gets converted to glucose.

When the wind picks up the plates are lifted up into the sky. These plates slowly fall back down to the ground, sometimes covering it like a blanket of snow.

The spores remain dormant until temperatures rise and water from melting snow dissolves the thin plate keeping the spores apart. The spores then combine and reproduce.

Most of the spores that land in warmer habitats do not survive very long, but there is a constant population in the southern montane regions of Wallace.

The plates are highly nutritious and are eaten by many organisms as detritus.

(On hold)