Morphields

The drug trade has caused severe ecological damage even after it ended. The opium poppies once used for highly addictive depressants have grown completely wild and dominated high altitude environments in the Middle East and Northern India. These ecosystems are known as Morphields, are shrublands that are entirely dependent on addiction to function. The evolutionary paths of the organisms in the Morphields have been shaped by addiction to opium.

Morphield poppies (Papaver Qingi) grow to about 6 feet in height. They are monocarpic but their growing season spans the entire year due to the heat and humidity of their habitat. Each flower lasts for about 4 days before becoming seed capsules full of poppy seeds. The seed pods themselves produce addictive latex. The alkaloids in the latex are also found within the nectar and very small concentrations in the roots and leaves. Each plant has about 6 flowers at a time and can grow extremely close together. The crown where the flowers sprout begins at 2 feet in height up to the full 6 feet.

Scorrots

Scorrots (lacpsittacus) are a small genus of parakeets found throughout the Morphields. They are descended from ringneck parrots. They measure in at an average of 14 inches in length with a 10 inch wingspan. Males have a large black ring around their neck while females have a light grey ring. Head and tail feathers are a light blue, the tips of their wings are light green, and the rest of their body is a yellow-green. 

Scorrots eat mostly poppy seeds, they like to crack them open with their beaks and lick the seeds out. They also take their claws make score marks on the seed pods, they like to come back later and lick off the milk of the poppy. The milk of the poppy works as a painkiller after they get into fights, even though its more addictive then helpful. They get into fights because they also prey on small field rodents that get too close to their nests.

Two different families will nest together in hollow tree holes and abandoned burrows. Every fall, Scorrots group up in pairs and lay about 3 eggs. There are several different kinds of calls for different reasons such as mating, feeding, locations of opium, etc.

Reex

Reex (foetidusvulpes) are a small genus of red fox found in the Morphields. They measure in at 2 feet in length and slightly shorter at the shoulder. Their fur is a bright red that blends in with the poppy flowers during the blooming season. In the winter their fur turns into their usual orange color. Reex are the only endemic predator of the Morphields. 

Reex are completely silent while moving, which helps them in their ambush hunting style. They hide in the fields and spray fluid from specialized scent glands that smells like opium on the ground. They wait for an opium addicted organism to smell it and follow the scent. Once their prey arrives, they pounce and rip their prey apart. If any predators try and attack them, they spray their attackers to try and get them to let go.

Pophogs

Pophogs (fossiosonic) are a small genus of Long-eared hedgehog. They live in Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. They have shorter spikes, larger hands, and a longer snout. They measure in at 8 inches in full length. They have a blue-gray coloration with brown quills.

Pophogs are essential to the soil of the morphields. They dig through the shallow horizons of soil and sense insects with their highly developed whiskers. One of their main prey items are weevils, which eat the poppy roots, thus keeping the morphields from collapsing. The weevils contain small amounts of opium from their diet, which gets Pophogs addicted.

Pophog dens are home to a single mother and 2-3 hoglets. Their mother's milk contains very small amounts of opium, which causes a slowly advancing addiction to weevils. The development of the highly sensitive whiskers and larger paws for digging is a direct response to an addiction to opium-laced weevils.

Lalankhapichum

Lalankhapichum (translates to red-eye-feather) are part of the monotypic genus Papaveroculus. They measure in at 4.5 feet in length, 3.5 feet in height, and have a 6 foot long tail. They come in a blue-indigo color and they would look like their ancestors except for one key difference, their eyes and eyespots are ringed with bright red rings that make their eyes look like poppies. 

Their eyespots are a direct result of opium addiction. Rare genetic morphs with the poppy pattern were considered more favorable due to females being addicted to opium poppies. They acquire opium from eating parts of the seed pods to get to the poppy seeds within. Sometimes they can't reach the seed pods so they use their muscular legs to jump high in the air to get to their food. Lalankhapichum also use their legs to stomp on snakes inside the brush and eat them.

Stalksnakes

Stalksnakes (genus floreserpentes) are a small genus of vine snake. They have a blue-green coloration that blends into the poppy stalks. Their head however, is a bright red, They measure in at 7 feet long. 

Their diet consists of medium-large size insects, scorrots, lizards, frogs and sometimes bats. They climb up the stalk and blend in with their very skinny body. Their head blends into the flower itself. Whenever anything comes by, they launch their head forward and grab anything coming by before swallowing it whole. Like many other predators in the morphields, their addiction to opium comes from trace amounts in their prey.