Difference between revisions of "Carnivorous plants"

Latest revision as of 15:56, 1 October 2019

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Felarya possesses a wide variety of carnivorous plants. Like their name implies, they feed on other living creatures, actively capturing, swallowing, and digesting their prey. Some of them, such as the gravedigger, are also able to move, somewhat blurring the line between plants and animals. Many carnivorous plants on Felarya display sophisticated ways to capture prey and represent a great danger if you don't know them. See also regular plant life.

An earthmouth lying in wait.

Podmaw

Threat: Moderate

Hanging from the undersides of large branches, at first glance these large egg-shaped pods might look like a natural growth on the massive trees of Felarya. They even emit a slightly sweet aroma, much like a ripe fruit. However, once a prey is underneath them, they reveal their true nature. The pod splits open, revealing a gooey maw and writhing tentacles, and those tentacles shoot down towards the intended victim. Once ensnared by the mass of tentacles, the prey is dragged back in the pod and swallowed whole and alive into the stretchy and elastic stem of the plant. The Podmaw then retracts and begins to digest the trapped victim. The process usually takes a few days. Of special note is that sometimes the large creatures of Felarya, such as nagas, will pick the Podmaws, much like one would pick a fruit, if there is a trapped humanoid inside that is still alive. They consider it a special delicacy, as the plant sap adds a sweet taste to the prey.

Sack Vine

Threat: Low

These extremely long and thick vines can be found coiled around the trunks and branches of the trees of Felarya. They are easily identified by the large purple colored blossoms (which resemble tulips) and shriveled green sacks located along the length of the main vine. When a prey gets close to one of the blossoms, it immediately strikes and envelops the victim. The prey is then swallowed and travels along the length of the vine, until it reaches one of the shriveled green sacks. The plant then begins to pump in digestive enzymes. The sack walls will also begin to constrict around the form of the victim, restricting all movement during digestion.

Doormat Plant

Threat: Low

These plants seems harmless at first glance. They essentially look like big lily pads, although they are found on land. When prey steps onto the center of the pad, the ground suddenly gives way and they find themselves being pulled into a narrow hole in the ground. The leaf engulfs them as this occurs, sealing the prey within its grasp. The encasing leaf then begins to exude digestive fluids, which digest the prey over time. The consumption is total, and once the prey is totally absorbed by the plant the leaf will re-emerge from the hole once again, ready to catch more prey.

Dryad Gut Worm

Threat: Special (if you ever encounter it you are already in deep trouble)

Probably one of the most unique predators in Felarya, this carnivorous plant only exists in the stomachs of dryads. Much like a tape worm or other intestinal parasite in animals, this worm-like plant grows within the stomach of the dryad and devours whole food that finds itself in the dryad's gut... most typically humanoids. These hardy creatures can even survive the stomach acids of the dryad. Interestingly enough, the only way for a dryad to remove the parasite is by eating caffeine rich food... most commonly coffee loving humans out on a camping trip.

Giant Pitcher

Threat: Low

While one might expect an obvious trap to be of no danger, the Giant Pitchers of Felarya are quite the opposite. Like their smaller insect eating cousins, the Giant Pitcher consists of a large pitcher shaped growth that contains a pool of digestive fluid at the bottom. However, unlike the smaller kind, the Giant Pitcher's fluid pool emits a chemical scent that drives any nearby animal (or person) into a artificial state of extreme thirst. The affected will literally think they will die of thirst if they do not drink soon, and they will be inexorably drawn to the Giant Pitcher. They will willingly leap inside, and once there, actually begin to drink the digestive enzyme sap contained within. This, combined with the enzymes working on their body from the outside, will quickly reduce the victim in question to food for the plant. The effect can be countered by quickly drinking a safe liquid, like water, which will give you enough clarity of mind to realize what is going on.

Poisonous Creeper

Threat: Medium

Poisonous Creepers are vines lined with rows of sharp spines that grow up the trunks of trees in Felarya. When they sense prey is nearby, they will shoot the spines in the general direction of the victim. Each spine tip is coated with a deadly poison, which will instantly kill any small to medium sized humanoid. Once its target is killed, the creeper will extend tendrils outwards towards it. It will drag the corpse back to the main vine, where more vines will wrap around the corpse, mummifying it. Once wrapped, it will be broken down by digestive fluid excreted by the vines over the next days. Given that the range of the spines can be over 100 feet, it makes this plant very dangerous. Fortunately they are somewhat rare, as they will typically shoot their spines at large beings as well as small, which commonly incurs the wrath of the large beings in question. Travelers have reported sightings of enraged giant nagas literally knocking down the tree the creeper was wrapped around, and then using a second tree to smash the creeper and its tree into oblivion.

Mist Clematis

Threat: High

Sticking out of the foggy layer of the mist ocean, these giant flowers are one of its greatest dangers. Their stem is thick, supple, and strong enough to resist a chainsaw. The large blossom is of a pinkish white, and most of the time closed to better endure the cyclonic winds that sweep the zone. Once the flower locates a prey however, the blossom suddenly opens, revealing a large, slimy mouth. The plant then vacuums its target in, in a brief but incredibly powerful motion, strong enough to overcome the ambient winds. The prey finds itself almost instantly propelled into the mouth, dizzy and disoriented, and is promptly swallowed. The prey then travels slowly down the length of the stem, until it reaches the large stomach of the plant, situated deep underground. What makes mist clematis so dangerous is their range. Some specimens are said to be able to suck prey in from up to 300 yards away.

Blinking Flower

Threat: Medium

Blinking Flowers are carnivorous plants that exist in the spaces between dimensions. Every so often, then can phase into one of the dimensions they live between to snatch prey. They strike at lightning speed, engulfing their victim within their petals before blinking back to their inter-dimensional space to digest their prey within their stem. While there is little defense against such an attack, they are thankfully rarely seen save for certain unstable areas of Felarya such as Miragia forest.

Gloomlotus

Threat: Low

The Gloomlotus can commonly be found in the Dridder forest region. Unlike most plants, the Gloomlotus actually requires darkness to thrive instead of light. They prefer caves, although one can find them in the darkest parts of the forest as well. They emit a sickly, purple glow as a means of attracting curious prey. Once the prey approaches, the Gloomlotus will puff a cloud of pollen in the victim's face, which causes them to fall into a coma. The flower will then begin to spray fine fibers over the body of the prey, encasing them in a cocoon to protect the prey's body from other animals or beasts in the area. The Gloomlotus will then grow roots into the trapped prey, slowly breaking them down into food.

Earth Mouth

Threat: Moderate

A great plant buried deep underground, with only its mouth emerging on the surface, often at the bottom of a funnel-shaped cavity. They are rather easy to spot, however they are still dangerous because the plant will shake the ground around the funnel whenever it senses prey. Once in the funnel, it's almost impossible to escape. The plant makes the surface vibrate, and the prey finds itself slowly and inexorably approaching the center where it is swallowed alive. Some species of earth mouths possess a sticky tongue as well.

Gravedigger

Threat: Medium

A completely mobile plant with no need to take permanent root. It consists of a large pod-like mouth sitting atop a gut-sack supported by several large tendrils. When the mouth opens, tentacles from the stomach shoot out of its large maw and wrap around its prey, pulling it back into the stomach, where digestion begins. Its name comes from its habit of digging itself into an underground burrow after eating, essentially digging its victim's grave for it.

Hydra Tree

Threat: Very Low

An immense carnivorous plant resembling a cross between an anemone and a tree, with a very wide trunk and massive tentacles crowning an enormous mouth high above the ground... A mouth that is fully capable of engulfing a giant naga whole!

Ironically, hydra trees pose almost no threat to humans or anything too small to trigger the tentacles. The plant however, is a mortal danger for greater predators, such as nagas. Its tentacles possess a formidable strength that very few creatures can match. Once captured, the prey is brought to its mouth and forcefully pushed in. Once the plant begins to swallow, the prey is doomed. Very strong esophageal walls will grip it, slowly pushing it down in to a cavernous and enormous stomach deep underground. Even worse than their great strength is their resistance to damage; trying to hurt a hydra tree is like trying to hurt a mountain. They are very rare however, and great predators, other than fairies, quickly learn their exact location. Fairies simply don't use size-changing magic around them, and stay small. Sometimes, nekos or humans will build villages at the base of hydra trees, as they provide a natural and strong protection. Once the tree has devoured a prey though, it will digest it for a whole week. Its tentacles fold around its mouth and it won't attack another prey until its digestion is finished... a sure sign to predators that the place is safe for now.

Coulorme

Threat: Moderate

A carnivorous tree growing in Chidokai forest. A quick glance will not reveal it as a Coulorme tree, as it looks very similar to the other trees of that zone: high with a long, twisted trunk and dense foliage. Even climbing the branches of a Coulorme doesn't pose any particular danger, making it even harder to detect. Its roots are another story though: they are very long and will suddenly come to life as soon as they sense a prey approaching. Once captured, the prey is swiftly brought to the cavernous mouth of the plant, usually situated under the trunk. In an environment like Chidokai forest, full of narrow spaces, where you can have trouble distinguishing between the ground and the trees, and between a branch and a root, the Coulorme trees are really dangerous.

Angler Seaweedle

Threat: Moderate

A carnivorous plant residing within the depths of the Felaryan Seas, usually sleeping on the ocean floor. In order to catch prey, the Angler Seaweedle will allow four stalks of "seaweed" to float above its body, while concealing its mouth in the sand. It will then wait for an unsuspecting prey to swim up and eat the "seaweed". The seaweed stalks however, are actually powerful tentacles that will wrap around the prey and drag it to the seaweedle's mouth, which will uncover itself from the sands to engulf it. Biting into the seaweed will unleash a powerful tranquilizer into the prey's nervous system, which makes its capture much easier. Smaller versions of the Seaweedle will feast on fishes, while larger versions will aggressively feast on human-sized prey and small mermaids. As long as you stay away from any suspicious seaweed deposits, the angler will pose little threat, though.

Rofflesiae

Threat: Low

The rofflesiae is a wide, squat flower without a stem. They are usually sunken a bit into the ground, with tough, bright petals which remain closed most of the time. These petals have quite intricate, eye-catching designs. Their centers are hollowed out, leading to an inner chamber. Luckily they are both immobile and fairly easy to recognize. They have a specialization for hunting which can easily catch prey off guard, though. When sensing possible prey in their vicinity, they release a mist that contains a highly euphoric toxin. This toxin confuses the senses and disables by limiting a prey's muscle control; its strongest effect is to cause something that's inhaled enough of it it to burst out into an uncontrollable laughing fit, writhing around on the ground helplessly. With the air just above the ground filled with the dense fog released, it's very easy to mistakenly tumble right into the mouth of one of the surrounding rofflesiaes, with anyone that wanders in after to help likely falling to the trap as well. If you recognize them before the toxin permeates the air, you can likely escape before they all release their toxin. In addition, it only stays potent for about an hour, after which it dissipates and the rofflesiaes will close for several more hours as they produce more. Rofflesiaes are sometimes cultivated by certain giant beings, which the flower can do little to, aside from granting a mild euphoric sensation and the chuckles.

Arch Devil

Threat: Moderate

The Arch Devil is a carnivorous plant mostly found in Bulvon wood. The plant starts out as a spore that comes out of the pods of an already infected tree and drifts off in the breeze. Once it lands on the bark of another tree, it takes root and makes its way to the center of the tree fairly close to the ground. There it matures and bores out a cavity in the tree while maintaining the tree's structural integrity. Once it's done, the tree has an arch-like passage through it. Once prey walks under the passage, sticky tendrils shoot down and lift the prey up to an esophagus-like opening. They are squeezed in the flexible passage and sucked up some 7-10 feet to a cramped, flexible stomach where they are slowly digested. If the tree is large enough and the plant has lived long enough, it may develop a second storage stomach were extra prey is delivered to. It is the same tight encasement as the real stomach, but a thicker goo coats the prey and provides it oxygen and nutrients through the skin until the plant is hungry again.

Nerthensia

Threat: Moderate

An aquatic carnivorous plant growing mostly in flooded zones such as the Torrential coast or Sunken forest. Their size, and thus the danger they pose, vary greatly. They appear quite similar to a water lily, with a large colorful flower on a wide, round leave, drifting seemingly harmlessly on the water along the current. However as soon as it arrives within range of a prey, the flower suddenly opens up and shoots tendrils at it. Once captured, the prey is brought to the fleshy mouth of the plant, then promptly swallowed and forced into a flexible stomach, situated underneath the floating leave. Nerthsensias are especially dangerous because they blend so well with other aquatic plants, usually numerous in the places they grow.

Glutongue

Threat: Moderate

On first glance, it appears to be a long pink stalk sticking out of the ground. However, once something of reasonable weight touches it, the stalk will trash about until whatever touched it gets completely stuck on the sticky stem, then it will pull downwards in to a fleshy underground pit to digest it. The stalk will always pull down once it has a certain weight of stuff stuck to it. If it's an inedible item such as a fallen tree branch, it will spit it out. If something restricts it from retracting, the glutongue will try and knock off the object. The obstruction would need to be fairly big and awkward to restrict the stalk though, so it's not an especially big deal.

Wild Clampet

Threat: Low

A carnivorous plant that imitates the harmless Clampet plant to catch prey. Once an unsuspecting prey enters it, it closes and, before the prey has even realized what is happening, it is promptly swallowed down to the stomach of the plant, buried underground. The process usually takes no more than a few seconds, and the clampet then immediately reopen, ready to catch more. Interestingly enough, the plant seems to be able to detect the number of prey it is dealing with. Confronted to a group, the clampet will wait for more to walk in, before closing down. They are thankfully rather rare and can be easily recognized by the sweet, minty smell they emit.

Quazoliph

Threat: Medium

One of the many unique denizens of the Sunken forest. Thought to be equal parts plant and animal, this monstrosity hides most of its body beneath the ground whenever possible, appearing only as a terrifying flower-like maw and vast tangles of gnarled "roots". Quazoliphs hunt by sending their branches snaking all over their surroundings, pretending to be part of the vegetation. No matter how far prey is from the predator's head, the tendrils will react with staggeringly precise reflexes and ensnare the unlucky victim, dragging it to the mouth to be devoured. Their camouflage is made even more effective thanks to the fungi, lichen, molds, mosses and small creatures that often colonize their bodies. It is believed that a particularly large quazoliph has claimed the old temple at the bottom of the pit as a nest, and over the years it has grown so vast that its roots now comprise a good amount of the pit's solid ground

Feyweed

Threat: Low

Feyweed is a carnivorous plant found over a wide area of Felarya, being relatively tough and adaptable. It grows up to a height of eight to ten feet usually but larger specimens up to thirty feet tall have been reported. It feeds primarily on fairies, and sometimes tinies. Each plant usually has between six to fourteen flower pods, each capable of catching and quickly gulping down a fairy, giving Feyweed the ability to eat a whole pack in a frighteningly short amount of time, if the fairies are not prepared. Feyweed use a similar tactic as Faebanes, hunting by releasing vast amounts of powerful pheromones that attract any nearby fairies. Most of them seem completely helpless against it, and will race to find the source of the intoxicating odor. The closer to the plant they get, the stronger the effect until the poor things are almost drunk on their feet and desperate to reach the flower pods, and to shrink themselves in order to drink the sweet nectar from them. The plants seems to be able to detect sources of magic and, once in range, will lash out at fairies' wings, with deadly accuracy. Once damaged, it's an easy matter for the Feyweed to plop a fat Flower pod over the drunk fairy and slurp them up. Most fairies sober up at this point, but it's far too late by then and they are swiftly transferred into the main stem of the plant which pulls them underground where they are stored inside a thick tuber-like stomach, and slowly digested.

On a side note, while fairies are almost rendered senseless by the thick aroma of the Feyweed's lure, they aren't the only ones who are affected. Nekos, Miaxi, and Angels are affected too, although to a lesser degree. Chilotaurs make an alcoholic beverage out of the nectar but as the average Chilotaur will make something to drink out of *anything*, that isn't surprising!

Tymul

Threat: Low

A very common carnivorous plant across the jungle of Felarya. It looks a large green flower hanging above the forest floor. In its center is the mouth, from which stretch long, thin filaments coated in a strong adhesive dew, that the plant lowers toward the ground to catch prey. Its appearance earned it the name of "spider flower". Once a prey touches a filament, it triggers the other to wrap around it and retract up, lifting the prey to the mouth that opens widely to swallow it. Tymul flowers are fully capable of engulfing various animals and organisms as large as humans. The plant itself usually anchors its roots to a tree branch, growing upside down. The bad new is that Tymuls grows quickly and almost anywhere, the good new is it secretes a numbing nectar that makes the prey dizzy in order to lessen its struggles, making the pain of digestion a little more bearable.

Grimtree

Threat: Moderate

The Grimtree is a stout, massive tree that isn't really carnivorous by itself. It doesn't look remarkable at first; its bark feels somewhat fleshy and slightly soft, but its general shape is pretty normal for a tree. It possesses, however, a very unique cycle of life. The fruit of the grimtree is called grimling and could be best described as a larva. It's very much alive, a sort of eyeless, sticky crawling horror with far too many tentacles, twisting and shifting about. It only lives to capture preys, and ravenously shoving them down its gullet, in order to grow bigger and bigger, to be capable of engulfing even more food. Once at a certain point, the grimling digs itself under the ground and start mutating into its final tree form over the course of a few weeks, using the energy it stored from the food it consumed in order to grow very fast and steadily. The size of a grimling varies a lot, the smallest of them only hunting small rodents, while the largest specimens would have no trouble swallowing several humans whole.

Siphontrap

Threat: Low

Siphontrap is an aquatic carnivorous plant growing in the Myriad river. It's always found floating on top of the calm waters and can be identified by its clusters of beautiful pastel blue flowers. What appears above the surface is of little danger however, as the real threat lies beneath. The roots of the plant are very long and extend far below the water, and are covered in pods of various sizes. These pods exist in two varieties.

The first type of pod is round and filled with gas. These pods grow near the base of the roots, and help keep the plant afloat. The second variety however, is flat and deflated with thin hairs growing out of an opening in the pod. When something of appropriate size pushes against these hairs, the pod will suddenly open up and inflate, sucking the unfortunate prey into the balloon-like pod. The opening then seal itself off by the trigger hairs, preventing any escape until the prey is digested. The smaller pods are only capable of sucking up very small insects, but the larger ones can engulf a human whole. Fortunately, they're easily avoidable and the biggest ones usually just catch large fishes or unwary merfolks.

Ghaoliveá Tree

Threat: Very Low

There have been countless stories of massive trees growing in Felarya for a long time. Many of them are true, albeit often exaggerated. Among them one can hear odd tales about the fantastical and elusive Ghaoliveá trees, stretching miles long to incredible distances. This titan is, however, ironically one of the hardest to spot for it grows downward. This unique type of subterranean tree develop roots close to the surface, while the tree itself grows exactly opposite to a regular tree, through the ground.

How this happens is not exactly clear. Some suggest the tree isn't entirely wood, but instead some bizarre fusion between organic and inorganic, using magic-rich soil and plenty of water to grow. The first phase of the Ghaoliveá tree growth is essentially horizontal, with the vegetal slowly developing and expanding a wide network of roots over very large distances, sometimes bursting out of the surface. The nutrition from the rich soil and water eventually create a reaction in the core of the tree. The trunk then start to grow downward, using the minerals in the ground as it "eats" through it. When the trunk gets large enough, the outer layer of the chitin-like bark expand, secreting some kind of sticky enzyme that digests through the ground's minerals as well as organic material while it expands slowly into a massive encircling zone, leaving the interior a large, hollow vertical cavern where the rest of the tree grows downward. The ground that doesn't get digested by the enzyme turns into a toxic goopy substance which pools underneath the tree, protecting it from creatures burrowing upward from far deeper. This shell-like exterior of the tree becomes massive, and reaches a point where its so dense its difficult even for underground burrowers to puncture through.

At this stage of its development, the ghaoliveá tree slows drastically its expansion down and its core start to grow leaves in the open area. A layer underneath the trunk in the open area has small pores and veins which shine through the trunk in the giant cavern, producing a beautiful and ghostly glowing light, illuminating gently the large underground tunnel. How exactly the ghaoliveá tree produce this light in unknown but at this stage it often turns to an entire vertical ecosystem with various underground creatures living and thriving within it. The roots that rarely extend above ground will grow leaves as well, making it look like just another odd plant in Felarya and concealing its true nature.

Classifying ghaoliveá trees as a vegetal have created some controversies in the past, as some claim they are more like a very strange and unique creature. The Ghaoliveá tree is considered to be passively carnivorous, feeding off the many subterranean creatures that hits its bark and get stuck to it because of the sticky enzyme that eventually digest and absorb them. It is even said that tonorions can get trapped and fall prey to a ghaoliveá tree although there haven't been any official records to such a remarkable event besides stories and rumors. The tree is mostly harmless to humans as long as they don't find themselves stuck on the wrong side of the tunnel which is an almost impossible position to be in.

The tree itself seem to be extremely rare and only a few specimens have been discovered across the continent.

Credits to:

• Veeshan123 for the Sack vine and Doormat Plant
• Slimetoad for the Quazoliph
• AisuKaiko for the Glutongue
• Soldier148 for the Arch Devil
• Fish for the Rofflesiae
• Zoekin for the Feyweed
• Pendragon for the Angler Seaweedle
• Water-Nebula for the Siphontrap
• El Portero for the Gravedrigger.
• Archmage Bael for the Ghaoliveá Tree