Reedfern

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Taxonomy
Ancestors and Descendants
Ancestor: Violet Reefern

Creator: Bufforpington

Habitat: Datura Swamp

Size: 1.5 m Tall

Diet: Photosynthesis, Detritivore

Reproduction: Sexual, bears yellow fruit

The Reedfern split from its ancestor and has moved into Datura Swamp. It has become accustomed to the brackish water and grows in clusters near the shore. It faces little competition with the wavelily, as it can grow in deeper waters due to its greater height. However, some specimens will end up growing beneath the carpet of orange bulbs of the wavelilies. These specimens will never grow as tall as the specimens growing further offshore, as only their prongs are adapted to surviving above water, limiting their size to the water's depth. However, the reedfern is well-adapted to living under the shadow of the wavelily. Their purple coloration allows them to absorb the low-wavelength light that filters between the wide bulbs of the wavelily. This ability is made better by the darker color of its leaves, allowing it to absorb even more light. They also will grow quickly, with its prongs rising through any crack in the carpet when given the opportunity. Flat, rounded pods grow beneath these prongs. These are the reedfern's modified sporepods, which now contain gametophytic sperm. Because these self-sufficient sperm are rather expensive, it takes time for the pods to mature. Thus, unripe pods will double as leaves, which allows the plant to photosynthesize above the mass of orange bulbs. Mature pods will then fall off into the water and float across the swamp, dispersing their gametophytic sperm wherever they go. The eggs are now clustered near the base of the plant. When a sperm unites with the egg, the egg will swell into a large yellow fruit containing many tiny and highly resilient seeds. The fruits themselves are sweet- making them appealing to herbivores. The seeds will survive the digestion process, and will be released with the animal's dung, using it as fertilizer. However, specimens growing beneath wavelily mats rarely are able to disperse their sperm due to the pods falling on top of the orange carpet of wavelilies instead of the water. This prevents them from reproducing properly. Thus, only the specimens in waters clear of wavelilies are able to reproduce properly. However, sometimes the pods of specimens growing under the wavelilies make it into the water. Slowly but surely, these overshadowed reedferns will deviate into a new species.