Flivulb

Basic Information

Anatomy

The plant centres around a woody tapering stalk that juts a little more than a meter off the ground. Beneath this are roots which tend to shoot downwards and when looked at from a cross-section appear as if they are a tapering cone, starting out very broad and circular before slowly narrowing down. Like a cycad the stalk has on each row three leaves situated equidistantly from each other, which are waxen and coloured red, blue and yellow respectively, representing the three suns of the Lanterns. Those leaves are very long and narrow but then they terminate into a wide fan much like a ginkgo. Inbetween the overlapping layers of plant skin there poke out the eponymous bulbs of the Flivulb, which, when they are heavy enough, dangle from the plant by long stems attached to its bottom. Festooned with three leaves of their own and one that is severely oversized placed on top of the bulb.

Genetics and Reproduction

It is a flowering plant that grows fruit, which are the bulbs. Their flowers, which are broad and blue, attract pollinators like Gieloskans who stick their heads inside the flower and gorge on its hallucinogenic nectar, and spread it to other plants. During that stage of bulb-growing the plant becomes ravenous and absorbs more levium than usual. The levium is allocated to the bulbs and keep inflating as the plant absorbs it from the cloud-wool until it becomes buoyant enough to detach. Immediately after this the bulb is set adrift and keeps hovering around until it roots in another cloud. The bulbs themselves have extremely over-sized leaves attached to them which function as sails.

Growth Rate & Stages

It begins as a seed and germinates after a week in damp wool. Then it spreads its roots out and pokes out of the wool after three weeks. Then another week later it grows its leaves and begins to grow even more until it has reached full maturity after two months.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

These grow in their greatest profusions on the clouds of Gielosk, particularly the ones in humid air, however they have been known to persist in the upper echelons although in much sparser quantities. Their roots are deep enough that on thinner clouds they can be observed dangling through the wool. The clouds of Parrungelon, Sorutheen, Gelbshor, Posp and Vurbinc have the most of these plants and when spring comes they are obscured completely by thick masses of bulbs floating away from them.

Lifespan

4 years

Average Height

1.2-1.4m

Average Weight

0.5-3kg