- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Defteros | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 21 2013, 05:17 PM (352 Views) | |
| Affexian | Oct 6 2013, 12:42 AM Post #11 |
|
Beginner
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I have two questions about this: 1.) So the early developmental stage of the plant is little more than a free-living bud, yes? If it's suppose to grow quickly, where is it's nourishment coming from? You could argue it gets it from the ground, but most organisms impart nourishing secretions or tissue reserves to their offspring to aid in rapid development and to help survive a delay in germination when the environment may be unsuitable for development. 2.) Antlers are amazing things, & the concept of photosynthetic organisms which grow in a similar manor is very cool (and a bit disturbing, which is a nice touch*) but this, and the presence of a heart, leads to an observation and possible point of trouble: Energy. Having an active circulation system requires a good deal of energy to keep all that fluid moving, something that Earth's vascular plants don't worry about because capillary action is largely a passive mechanism, from my understanding. Even more energy intensive is bone growth: deep sea fish have it pretty nice from an energetics stand point: not only do bones make you heavy, but it takes energy to build and maintain them (being a living and malleable tissue and all). How much energy do these things require? I can't say (though I really wish I could!) But I'm concerned that simply using energy from photosynthesis won't be enough to support these organisms, not to mention, what is the surface these 'plants' are photosynthesizing with? A thin 'skin' covering their bony surfaces? The horsetail leaves? Perhaps the immature plants store photosynthetic pigments within the hairs of the velvet growing on their surface? ... Back to growth and energy, I assume that this is a planet rich in calcium? These plants would need a ready supply of calcium in a form that they can readily intake and use. The more I ramble about this, the more it sounds like your 'plants' are almost more heterotrophic then autotrophic. Perhaps their roots are actually capable of some amount of external digestion (sort of like Affex's yellow and red flora)? Certain it would be crucial in early development to be able to acquire as much energy and mass as possible, but once the velvet has been lost & the plant is no longer building upon it's boney skeleton, perhaps then it shifts to being more dependent on photosynthesis for it's energy? ----- Point of general clarification for everyone (or at least for myself): A spore is an asexual unit of reproduction which germinates into a new individual organism. This contrasts with a gamete which must merge with another gamete to produce an offspring. Are your seeds sexually produced or asexual & if they are sexually produced, how? I'm not being dirty, but rather the mechanisms of reproduction are a large force in how we define groups of plants here on Earth. I recommend looking up "alternating generation". Your brain might hurt a bit afterwards. I'm not saying to include alternative generations, but rather since it's a big force in how we on Earth look at plants, you shouldn't be afraid to look a bit more deeply in how your cardiovascularly-endowed 'plants' make more of themselves. *Plants with bones and hearts! How is that not even just a little unsettling?
|
![]() |
|
| Olympianmaster | Oct 23 2013, 07:48 PM Post #12 |
![]()
Very Active Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Puffplants: These are simple organ plants, having only a heart. They have big, thick, strong leaves and a cotton-like "puff" ball. When it rains the plant opens up and the "puff" sucks up the rain, and stores it in different water sacks underground. Lungplants: These are a bit more complicated organ-plants. They have a simple heart and, what gives it it's name, lung-like organs. They come in many different shapes; from the huge pyramid-shaped ones in the desert to the rat-sized lung-tubes. They have simple, antlerwood skeletons, with strong, thick leaves covering it like skin. Moss Curtains: These are non-organ plants. They look and feel similair like moss, and hang from branches like large curtains; hence the name. They "cling" on to the branch of either a antertree or a bulbtree, and start their parasitic bond; getting water and nutrients from it's host (if that's the right name for it). They will just keep on growing and growing until it's too heavy for the branch, the branch breaks off and falls down with the curtain. Moss Nets: Close family of the moss curtains, they have a similair structure. They look like large, mossy nets, spanning itself between trees or stones. The spaces between the "lines" of the nets are filled with a transpirant gel with which it catches and digests the insect-analogues of Defteros, to get water and nutrients. Edited by Olympianmaster, Oct 23 2013, 07:49 PM.
|
![]() |
|
| Olympianmaster | Oct 23 2013, 08:03 PM Post #13 |
![]()
Very Active Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Offcourse they'll get some of it from the ground. And also the velvet covering when they are growing could have photosynthetic pigments within it's hairs like you said (and I find it a really good idea). Also I was thinking about a symbiotic relationship with eusocial insect-analogues, which we'll call Farmers for now. The farmers can build their homes inside the bone-like bark of the trees in exchange for farming the moss nets that hang from the branches, so they won't become to heavy and break the branch. When the farmers want to create a new colony, they will get spores and spread them to a certain place; then they will nourish the young tree/knob with nutrients and water they gather. Would that be enough? And possible?
They switch mostly to photosynthesis when they are done growing. If this isn't enough, then maybe the farmers could also feed them a bit from the moss curtains? Also, I'll look a bit into the external digestion you mentioned, do you have a link or something? |
![]() |
|
| Olympianmaster | Oct 25 2013, 08:20 PM Post #14 |
![]()
Very Active Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Plant worms Once they ruled all land, now they only live in deserts and arid places. These creatures were the first to fully live on land. They have a pill-shaped body, and when you first look at them, they sort of resemble worms, hence the name. They have a four part mouth with which they take food and then swallow it whole; then it comes into some kind of "mauling chamber" filled with rings of teeth, in which the food is chewed and mauled. This is followed by a simple digestive system. They are opportunistic, eating everything they can find; small lungplants, carrion, etc. But they mostly get energy from their photosynthetic frill, which gives them the other part of the name. This frilled is mostly folded in the behind of the body. When it needs energy, it buries itself in the ground so only the back of the body sticks out. Then the frill folds out and begins photosynthesis. The different species vary much in size and color. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Extraterrestrial Evolution · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
12:54 AM Jul 11
|




![]](http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/103/5/a/Pip_end_by_Pandorasaurus.jpg)





12:54 AM Jul 11