Aphrodite
Basic Information
Anatomy
Aphrodites can be divided into 3 sections, the fruit, the stem, and the roots. The fruit evolved from branching leaves of more basal boseo descendants. The fruit is filled with deadly toxins that would make it inedible to most creatures. The fruit takes on the shape of a satellite dish, extending from one side of the stem and curving up. The fruit of the creature still broadly serves as photosynthetic surface for the organism, although it is poor at this function
The stem is long and spindly and takes up the majority of the organism's height. The stem is richer in violet pigmentation then the fruit and is the only edible part of the body. The stem is hollow inside and is home to many chemosynthetic prokaryotes. The plant gives the prokaryotes iron and nitrite in exchange for glucose sugars. The roots extract what minerals there are from the substrate and transports it it to the chemosynthetic prokaryotes. Unlike many descendants of boseo, aphrodite has forgone the evolution of a tuber, and no longer sends horizontal shoots from it rhizoid to spawn new stems.
Genetics and Reproduction
Aphrodite have no sex or other mating groups. Their typical form of reproduction is by budding. At about a year of age they will start growing a bud into which they transfer nutrients and symbiotic prokaryotes. After 90-110 days it will break away and drift some way away before anchoring into the soil with fast growing roots. A typical Aphrodite will bud at least 10 times during its life. Additionally the main plant's leaf retains the ability to reproduce sexually by releasing spores coated in a sample of its internal symbiotic flora. This only happens in exceptionally good conditions however.
Ecology and Habitats
Aphrodite can be found nearly anywhere in shallow waters, but they thrive at river mouths, especially near active colonies of bloomers. When a population explosion of bloomers occurs aphrodite is among the only organisms that thrive rather than dying off. Aphrodite has a strong resistance to bloomer waste products, and in fact concentrates them in the fruit to avoid it being eaten. It also takes advantage of the high nitrite concentrations bloomers produce to feed its symbiotic prokaryotes. These situations also result in low predation. It should be noted that while aphrodite benefits greatly from bloomer colonies, the bloomer colonies do not significantly benefit from aphrodite stands, gaining only a marginal benefit from the additional oxygen that aphrodite produces from its own modest levels of photosynthesis.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Aphrodite depends heavily on minerals washed down from inland by rivers. These form much of its tough structure, and are used to help feed the chemosynthetic prokaryotes it depends on for a large portion of its glucose production. It also benefits greatly from high nitrite concentrations, and so they grow most where bloomer colonies are thriving.
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