Grasproot
Basic Information
Anatomy
A grasproot consists of a woody core roughly in the shape of a sphere and the many roots which grow out of it in every direction. Since the dunes of the Shifting Sands move so rapidly and the local weather is so chaotic, the roots of a grasproot plant make up over 95% of its volume. No matter how much the plant is disturbed or what orientation it is deposited into, some roots will invariably wind up swept upwards into warmer sand, allowing it to orient itself and climb back to the surface.
Genetics and Reproduction
When a grasproot reaches a certain size it will tangle the ends of many of its roots together and detach them to form the core of a new plant. It is theorized that all grasproots are effectively genetic clones of the first generation spawned by the catastrophe that spawned the Shifting Sands. Though incredibly dangerous to create and harvest, a skilled herbalist or alchemist will likely pay exorbitant sums for an artificially created grasproot core; when the roots of an immature plant are tangled together and cut off, they will often still grow into a new plant, but that new plant doesn't develop entirely correctly: it is less able to sense living things and its motion is much more lethargic. This of course makes harvesting its valuable reagents much safer than attempting to do so from a wild grasproot.
Growth Rate & Stages
The very nature of the Shifting Sands makes observing a single grasproot for any length of time nearly impossible. Theories exist about its growth pattern from observation of "domesticated" plants, but these are different enough in behavior and environment that few believe they actually allow a good comparison.
Ecology and Habitats
Grasproots thrive in the shifting sands and their tame cousins can be coaxed into growing in nearly any regular garden, but it's not certain how well a true plant would do in another environment. In fact, incredible effort is expended ensuring that one never reaches another environment at all.
Dietary Needs and Habits
The roots of the eponymous plant conceal themselves just below the surface of the sane and spread themselves over as wide an area as possible. When they sense a living thing enter their area, they patiently wait for it to venture deeper, slowly bringing in additional roots. When the time is right they strike, wrapping loops around their target with blinding speed and inexorably drag them beneath the sand to be devoured.
Biological Cycle
Apart from growing with age, no discernible change seems to occur in a grasproot after its initial formation. No color change occurs, no flowers ever blossom, no leaves are lost. Older grasproots will appear to have grown a spindly white casing around their core if it's ever unearthed, but in reality this is just the bones of its victims which have not yet been digested.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Grasproots appear to have two senses, a mundane ability so sense temperature which is used to identify the direction of the surface when the plant is buried by the motion of the dunes and a seemingly magical ability to sense living things that the plant uses to sustain itself.
Geographic Distribution
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