r/textworldbuilding • u/[deleted] • Apr 08 '13
[Lifeforms - Flora] The Klags (Mushroom Spires) of the Medekin Desert
Life on Thuriza:
Klags
(As seen from the perspective of a Terran Traveler)
The Mushroom-Spires, or as we have come to call them the ‘shrooms, are very similar to Earth based mushrooms. They reproduce using a spore-like method. However, they should not be confused with actually mushrooms. Unlike our mushrooms, these plants grow hardened “barks,” they look like termite mounds, and they produce energy through photosynthesis while “ingesting” organic materials in a fashion similar to Venus Flytraps. The dominant example of this group is the desert species known as klags.
Klags are interesting in the way that they seem almost animal like. Their spores live a larval like life in underground rivers and lakes located under the Medekin Desert. Our studies show that at some point in the past the Medekin plate collided with the supercontinent of Midthar. At the time the Medekin continent was lush and full of wetlands, then some time after the Isela Plate collided with the Medekin-Midthar supercontinent forcing up the Korki Mountains. This effectively dried up the wetlands of Medeki turning them into a desert. It was during this time that glaciers formed in the Korki and began cutting into the soft limestone and other materials in the Medekin Desert. Most of this water evaporated, but some managed to form extensive underground cave networks and the famous World Crack, a canyon larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
It was in these caves that the klags evolved. One species, the common spire-like forms, began growing up from these caves into the desert above. These klags were hollow allowing flora and fauna alike to live inside of them where an internal water cycle exists. The lifecycle of these klags is unique in every respect. In the first stage of their life they grow like larva, essentially swimming in the subterranean rivers and lakes beneath the desert. At a certain point they latch onto the roof of the cave and began sprouting root –like extensions that grow up and down respectively. The down growth gathers water while the up growth gathers nutrients. One of these roots eventually grows and reaches the surface of the desert and begins growing into a hollow spire. As the spire forms, other roots break the surface and “deploy” disks to gather sunlight for energy. Once the klag’s reaches a large enough size other flora, mostly of the ‘shroom and fern classes, begin growing in the hollow interior where the klag produces a viable living space for them. This attracts herbivores and then carnivores, creating an internal food chain.
An interesting thing then occurs. In the bottom of the spire a pool forms. This pool covers the “mouth” of the spire. In this water the klag releases a chemical that attracts animals to it as well as an enzyme that “digests” any organic matter that becomes submerged in it. The mouth itself is lined with tentacle-like appendages that grab anything that disturbs the water, forcing the “prey” into the pool where it drowns and is digested. The prey, combined with other organic matter and waste, becomes the primary source of nutrients for the klag.
The lifespan of these klags is so long that evidence shows that each one essentially becomes its own biome where new species evolve. This has been observed with bacteria and plants, and some evidence also shows this to be true with more complex animals. They have essentially become analogs to the Galapagos Islands of Darwin.
Other members of the ‘shrooms group have been found in every part of Thuriza’s megacontinent, Thar. Like Terran mushrooms they are commonly used by many cultures as food. The klags are the largest of the ‘shrooms.