Titan Trunk
Titan trunks are a gargantuan species from Norrab. On the surface, titan trunks can be confused with both trees and fungi, but it is in fact neither. Titan trunks are a massive coral-like formation, a buildup of trillions of tiny polyps.
Taxonomy
As titan trunks are colonies of polyps, they fall under the phylum Cnidaria, alongside jellyfish, anemones, coral, and other perplexing organisms.
Titan trunks are in the class Truncerita, alongside thousands of other colonial species that form larger trunk-like bodies.
Anatomy
Titan trunks are one of the largest species under Truncerita, reaching heights of over a hundred metres. While their appearance might be forboding, these trunceritans are hollow.
The hollow trunks have struts running across to aid in structural integrity. These keep the entire organism from toppling during high wind speeds.
The light cream colouration of titan trunks helps them blend into the surroundings. Unfortunately they do not camouflage well, due to their height.
The so-called "cap" of a titan trunk is the widest point of these organisms. Double, sometimes triple, the width of the trunks, they store water and nutrients for the entire colony. The cap is a sun-bleached orange, with pores large enough for an adult human to sit in. These pores collect water during rainfall.
Titan trunks have specialised gripping polyps that help ground the colony, attaching it to the ground. They embed themselves into cracks in the ground, securing the trunk's position.
Diet
Like other polypal colonies, titan trunks have a planktonic diet. Unlike most polyps, these organisms have to feed on a specific type of plankton, extremely rare on planets in general but common in Norrab's atmosphere. The base of Norrab's atmospherical food webs, aeroplankton is a staple for some, a plague for others.
A blend of microscopic aerial polyps, windswept eggs and larva, and an assortment of other miniscule creatures, aeroplankton fills the planet's atmosphere. The polyps of titan trunks use their tiny tentacles to grasp at anything floating by, and with the amount of aeroplankton in Norrab's atmosphere, it is no wonder these colonies can grow so large.
During planktonic storms polyps will start to vibrate out of activity, thanks to the excessive amount of plankton in the atmosphere.
Habitat
Titan trunks are rivalled in size in their natural habitat. They are native to the Sian Lowlands and the Looming Desert, particularly common around the Algol, Norrab's longest river. Titan trunks grow in large groups, polyps fastening together just beneath the soil, creating a sturdy labyrinth of roots.
While their size is impressive, they are not the only gargantuan species in the area. Various species of tortonids, such as silverbowls, can grow even taller than these titanic cnidarians. Many animal species nest within cavities in titan trunks, co-existing with norrabians. Many bird species create nests in the hollow spaces of the trunks, and many other animals seek refuge within the colonies' bodies during severe weather.
Uses
Fuckin hell, I tripped over the beam again. We can't move it, can we? No, Iso, we can't. Then our house will fall down.
Titan trunks are heavily used in norrabian architecture and infrastructure. Their size, sturdiness, ability to hold in massive amounts of water and provide shade meant that norrabians have used titan trunks as houses for thousands of years.
The earliest known evidence of norrabians using titan trunks as houses dates back approximately twenty thousand years ago. Earlier norrabians used titan trunks mainly as a source of shelter. Their massive caps provided large stretches of cool shade during the most boiling days.
In modern times, titan trunks serve as small apartment complexes. Each floor is established between the struts of the hollow body. The pores atop the caps collect enough water for the entire complex, as well as water gathered from the Algol, and moisture farms.
Leave the beam alone, Iso, :[
silly man :(