Absorbent Sucker

In a World getting ever drier as more and more water is frozen at the polls two of the Futures' most unique flora? have to team up to survive benefiting both parties in the process.

Lichen Trees (Arborsimiliform-Tree Like Forms) have suffered more than most other plants as the Ice Age marches on. The Northern Forest of high rainfall that Lichen Trees need to survive has been replaced as the glaciers up north grow larger and freeze more water at the poles turning the temperate rainforest into more open woodlands similar to the Gissaro–Alai open woodlands of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

As the forests around the coasts grow drier Angiosperms have moved back into the forest understory without the water-soaked ground to stop them.

The drier conditions and competition with Angiosperms have driven most of these unique fungi to extinction. Without their Lichen Tree host, most of the Slithersuckers have gone extinct or have moved on to other large plants following the retreating forest to the coast.

However, one type of Lichen Tree has survived out on the open tundra where competition with Angiosperms isn't as severe.

On the Tundra it is only dry for most of the year with a heavy rainy season at the start of the spring.

To survive the dry months these Lichen Trees have partnered with their Slime Mold companions. What started with some of the nutrients from the Slithersuckers kills getting absorbed by the Lichen Tree has turned into the Absorbent Sucker an almost root-like Myxogastria.

Absorbent Suckers forum massive colonies underneath the surface of the Lichen Trees functioning like the Lichen Tree's "Roots" with the Absorbant Sucker absorbing and retaining water from rainfall and snow melt to be used by the Lichen Tree.

Well, other Slithersuckers hunt live prey, and the Absorbant Sucker still will it has mostly switched to absorbing detritus and other dead material most commonly dead grass. Some of this nutrient is also distributed into the Lichen Tree letting their Lichen Trees grow to 6 feet tall the largest of all Lichen Trees and slightly taller than the Tundra's herbivores.

Despite being made of single cells Absorbent Suckers are Farley smart borrowing through the ground they can link with others nearby forming stands of Lichen Trees bizarre aberrant monoliths that stand out like sore thumbs on the flat tundra landscape.

Of course, both Lichen Tree and Absorbant Sucker need to reproduce the Absorbant Sucker injecting small samples of itself into the Lichen Tree "Fruit" which is often eaten by Terra Squids who will then excrete it into a new location.

However, when it comes to forming new stands they have a very particular pollinator that they use...

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse