Silver Leafed Snowdrop

A creeping plant that often grows in clumps in the The Frosted Fields, it produces light blue bowl-shapped flowers that turn with the light. The leaves are feathery, blue-green in colour, with silver tips. The plant is well known for surviving in the freezing conditions that plague the Frosted Fields, mostly because of its ability to survive without soil.

Survival

The Silver Leaf thrives in snow and freezing temperatures, but it does not do so alone. Like many plants, the Silver Leaf has mycorrhizae fungi living on its roots, and the mycelium of the fungi grows between the cells of the roots. However, whereas most plants rely on these fungi to channel soil nutrients to the roots, the Silver leaf has formed a mutualistic relationship in order to gather water and avoid freezing. The plant produces sugars from preforming photosynthesis, which the fungi absorbs from the roots. As the fungi metabolizes the sugars, the reaction produces heat, which melts small amounts of the snow around the plant. This allows the plant to absorb the water, and continuing the process of photosynthesis.

This is also why the plant cannot survive at temperatures that many other plants would consider preferable. In temperate conditions, the fungi heat up the roots far too much, and take more of a benefit from the plant than the plant receives. This makes the fungi a parasite, but when conditions are sparse and cold enough, it acts as a mutualist.

As the amount of sunlight that reaches the plant changes over the year, it stores extra nutrients in tubers around its roots. This allows both the plant and the fungi to survive through the dark winter nights. These tubers are round and a light blue. They are also where the second part of the name of the plant comes from, as they are nicknamed "snowdrops".

Niche

When it comes to being a species in the The Frosted Fields, the Silver Leafed Snowdrop acts as a keystone species. It is one of the few plants that can survive, and most animals consume it to survive. The plant is capable of growing back after the above snow leaves are consumed, but has a significantly harder time surviving if the tubers have been consumed. As such, the Silver Leaf is quick to disperse, and has several methods to do so.

The plant is still capable of being pollinated by cold adapted pollinators, which often make the warmed area under the plant home. When these pollinators aren't available, it is also capable of self-fertilization. To do so, the stigma of the flower grows first, and then after several days, the anthers of the flower grow curving inward. The seeds are spread through the wind of the Frost Fields, and sprouts where it lands. The plant is also able to reproduce vegetative, which helps it spread in an area where its required fungi already thrives. However, vegetative reproduction does not increase its genetic diversity, and self fertilization often leads to less viable seeds.

Use

For many, the Silver Leaf acts as a source of nutrients when out venturing in the Frosted Fields, and its tubers will often be the only vegetable Ice Elementals will ever eat. The snow drops have a sweet and starchy taste, with an inside that is white. It is usually eaten raw instead of cooked. The leaves have little to no taste, which is why they are a favourite of the herbivores of the Frost Fields. The flowers are often used as decorations, but can also be eaten if need be. They have a light flavour reminiscent of their sweet smell.