Vampire Vines
Carnivorous, mobile plants with a potent toxic sap
"Vampire ivy. They grow around here. They're not much trouble if you keep moving, it's the dead and dying that need to worry. Anyone slow."Vampire Vines are a beautiful but deadly flower which grows in Pact and Hedon ecosystems.
Basic Information
Dietary Needs and Habits
Vampire vines are carnivorous plants with several methods to gain the nutrients and energy they need to survive. Which method they focus on most, and how effective that method is, varies from world-to-world and strain-to-strain.
Photosynthesis
In standard plant fashion the vine pulls nutrients from the earth and processes them by photosynthesis.
Vines which focus more on photosynthesis tend to have more extensive root systems, larger leaves, and less supple vines.
Ensnare
The paralytic/enervating sap excreted from the thorns during the guttation process of the vine makes the vines difficult to escape for any unwitting creatures which wander into it or which are flushed into it by clever predators. The effect of this sap can vary from numbing to paralytic. Once a prey is ensnared the vine will burrow into the prey and set roots into its body, feeding on it long after expiration until only the bones remain.
Vine which focus on ensnaring have more supple vines with more fibrous support to give them tinsel strength, they also tend to have more potent sap and sap-packed thorns or needles which pop out of the flesh and deliver the sap right into the prey.
Reseeding
The rarest of all methods. Some vines can detach portions of vines. These detached portions will slither blindly in a direction, following nutrients and heat for as long as possible before burrowing in and extending roots.
This most often occurs when the vine has reached a point of having more mass than it can support on its current nutrients, or when strain is put on the vine (as happens when trapped prey is flailing) and tears off segments of the vine.
When reseeding, the scent of its slowly rotting flowers will usually attract scavengers, which it will then attempt to burrow into. Because reseedings usually happen in groups of 20-30 vines at a time, this is a fairly effective practice.
Vines which focus on this method tend to be more hearty due to their ability to self-prune. They also have more pungent flowers and thorns/needles which better retract into the vine so that it can slither more capably.
Vines which focus more on photosynthesis tend to have more extensive root systems, larger leaves, and less supple vines.
Vine which focus on ensnaring have more supple vines with more fibrous support to give them tinsel strength, they also tend to have more potent sap and sap-packed thorns or needles which pop out of the flesh and deliver the sap right into the prey.
This most often occurs when the vine has reached a point of having more mass than it can support on its current nutrients, or when strain is put on the vine (as happens when trapped prey is flailing) and tears off segments of the vine.
When reseeding, the scent of its slowly rotting flowers will usually attract scavengers, which it will then attempt to burrow into. Because reseedings usually happen in groups of 20-30 vines at a time, this is a fairly effective practice.
Vines which focus on this method tend to be more hearty due to their ability to self-prune. They also have more pungent flowers and thorns/needles which better retract into the vine so that it can slither more capably.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
A Drug
The sap produced by guttation can be processed into an opioid, making it popular for medical and recreational use. The strength and viability of this opioid depends on the potency of its sap; some are known to induce a comatose state very quickly.Farming
Some worlds have taken to farming vampire vine, either by genestructing safe strains or by being extremely careful in their approach. The sap can be cold brewed out by soaking trimmed vines in running water for several hours or by boiling, though that largely removes the nutritional content as well.Torture
Such as in the case of the Green Bite, some communities or organizations have used the vampire vine for the sake of torture, sacrifice, or justice for crimes.An Invasive Weapon
Vampire vines offer a lot of bang for your buck in terms of Genestruction. It is fairly easy to tweak the vine to create new strains, and to even give them a preferential taste for the blood of one Sophont over another. As such, there are several documented cases where the vines have been introduced to a region to make it difficult or unlivable for the peoples there.
Alternative Names
- Serpent Vine
- Eater's Ivy
- Stumbler's Bane
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 10cm of vine (uncooked) |
| Calories | 20 |
| Dietary Fiber | 0.5g |
Genetic Descendants
Ashleigh D.J. Cutler
I really like the layout and the details. I don't know what else to say but very well done. :) The pictures are very nice. Reseeding feels very creepy. Like a Venus Fly Trap taken up to 10.
Ademal Jacklyn
Thank you!
Check out my summercamp by going here and checking out any of my gold-star articles!
Ashleigh D.J. Cutler
Welcome. :)