Flora

## General Overview

The Island's flora is a major witness of the great events that transformed its world. Its capacity of adaptation and its resilience to the most drastic changes make it an impressive resource for the observer who likes to dabble in natural history.

80% of the Island is covered in wild plants, from its wild coasts all the way to the hole. Climate variations and the energy released by the hole play a role in the way the different species evolve over time.

Water, the access to a constant source of light and of course, the fertility of the soil determine the density of the flora in the different regions. The varying levels of humidity account for a wide diversity in the shapes and habits of the species.

In this respect, coasts, as well as the swamp north of the Island are extremely dense in vegetation, while the center of the Island is mostly composed of short grass-covered plains and dry lands. While the Island climate is generally temperate, plateaux close to the hole and mountain tops are mostly desertic (either medium hot or icy).

## A Brief History of the Island's flora

#### **Comet cycles and their effects on the climate**

Comet cycles are known to be an essential part of the climate and weather mapping on the Island. Before the apparition of the hole, the celestial objects, while appearing systematically, did not follow a regular pattern and would hover around the world at different distances from its atmosphere; generating different densities of light and affecting the climate. Hence, plants have been known to possess a strong capacity of resilience to the constant weather changes.

#### **Cold era and its effect on the flora**

At the core of the cold era is primarily a cosmic event: 247 comet cycles before the hole, comets, which passage over the atmosphere of the Island was never regular, started hovering further and further away from the atmosphere. Of course, it had a strong effect on the climate that lost several degrees in a rather limited time.

In addition to this, light weakened overall, which led nature to enter a state of slowed metabolism, where plants, trees and other organisms that relied on day-to-day photosynthesis were stopped in their growth. In contrast, bulbs formed plants thrived (because of their ability to store nutrients). Their bulbs became larger and more resilient to harsh temperature, and this is something that they have retained.

The cold era had different effects depending on the region where it hit. For example, temperate rainforests that grow in lower altitudes on the coastal mountains remained strong and dense, mostly populated by conifers and ferns. Their resilience to winter allowed them to keep on growing despite the cold. Whereas plains in the center of the country suffered from the frost and lost their most fragile elements only to keep perennial plants and bulbs, roots, etc.

#### **Apparition of the hole and climatic changes**

The apparition of the hole that burst in the center of the Island and expanded from one side of the world to the other put an end to Nature's rigorous cycle. Comets got redirected from their courses and started falling directly into the hole, creating waves of energy that spread through the world. It signed the end of the cold era, as temperatures started rising again exponentially. The cycle of life of all living systems shifted, the energy created from the collision of the celestial objects with the hole providing tremendous amounts of regenerative forces. As this strange occurrence became a natural event, plants were progressively plunged into eternality.

At the same time, this bursting energy permanently damaged the ground at varying degrees depending on its proximity to the hole. Part of the soil lost its fertility, making plants unable to feed on it.

From this point, two types of adaptive behaviors emerged that will be classified thusly:

* Growing organisms
* Crystallized organisms

## Current Classification

Plants have been benefiting from endless waves of regeneration for a while and can now be considered immortal. The Island has once again stabilized into temperate climates closer to the ones experienced prior to the cold era, though the plants are now resilient to more drastic weather.

The flora has thus adapted to its environment in very surprising ways, and this is where our two categories surface again:

* **Growing organisms**
* **Crystallized organisms**

These categories embrace every part of the flora from grass to trees. The first category will also include new species of plants that appeared soon or long after the appearance of the hole.

The reason for this distinction is mainly attributed to water and how its lack affects the growth of plants.

## Growing organisms

Deprived of fertile ground, plants around watery areas - on coasts, around rivers, swamps, and lakes - have found new ways to access the resources for their survival.

One must remember that all living organisms are incapable of perishing. But plants having no brain nor any nervous system, they also lack the philosophical distance to understand the concept of immortality, let alone of life itself. The water and light energy from the comets that the most fortunate of them gather on an everyday basis has thus translated into uncontrolled photosynthesis, a source of unlimited growth.

Since the soil in the center of the Island has lost all nutritive properties and turned into dry land, plants uniquely rely on external sources of water, that is streams coming from the ocean and descending towards the hole.

#### **Feeding habits**

Plants around these points of interest have unanimously developed the most peculiar feature in order to get the precious resource; over the cycles, plants and trees that were once deeply rooted have lost their attaches to the ground, opting instead for rampant roots that crawl above ground towards water streams and end their course in the water, turned opposite to the current.

Another characteristic trait of the vegetation that is closest to the center is their constant orientation towards the comets' light, establishing interesting patterns of movement.

In general, plants in these areas are large and short with miles long bearded roots that tend to congregate into masses.

#### **The problem of Unlimited growth**

One might wonder how this unlimited growth doesn’t get completely out of control. Well, it does.

It is especially true on the coastal mountains where frequent precipitations feed the trees very consistently and enable them to grow till they reach exceptional heights. Towering conifers and giant ferns compose the coastal rainforests.

Nature’s best attempt at controlling its offsprings appeared through a very simple process: molting. When too heavy, plants and trees shed some of their surplus which rapidly decomposes into light dust. Whether winds and currents carry this dust to the hole or it eventually gets absorbed by plants and animals is unknown.

However, it doesn’t stop trees from growing higher and higher, which, given that their roots do not lie deep in the ground, sometimes leads to terrain rupture and/or, to their collapse. Nevermind! Fallen trees keep on growing vertically, with sprouts appearing on the trunk shortly after the collapse.

#### **Bulbous** **plants**

Large bulbs and long roots - these plants are the most resilient of all. Which is why they invade spaces easily. They can even be found on trees on which they occasionally sprout, potentially causing landslide because of the weight that too much vegetation apply to damaged ground.

Wide flowers with bright colors that reflect the light are a fortunate consequence of the comets falling towards the hole in which they eventually collapse.

#### **Giant pines**

The giant pines can be found in the temperate rainforests west of the Island, on the mountains where the precipitations peak. When near one another, their foliage can create an almost impenetrable canopy, under which ferns can prosper, protected from the passing comets. However, their collapse and molts cause the most impressive damages to their surroundings.

Since the climates are much colder in these regions, a layer of frozen rain usually covers the tops of these trees. Ferns might be covered in frost but the presence of underground sources allow them to build up heat inside their roots that sometimes transmit to the ground.

#### **Fallen giants**

These fallen trees are the rebels of older times. While lying on their trunks, they continue to sprout vertically, creating multiple rows of smaller trees.

#### **Bearded roots**

Roots expand everywhere and transform the shape of the ground. When deeply entangled, they can happen to fuse with one another in order to create a cluster of resources. They are usually covered with grass and moss.

#### **Invasive grass and moss**

There is little to no space for grass, moss and other carpet plants to grow under the thick layer of vines that cover 80% of the ground miles around the great rivers; but grass is a resourceful invader and has been known to colonize the roots themselves.

#### **Comets embers**

Let us not forget the species that appeared with each regeneration. Though we stated before that plants didn’t have the understanding of the notion of immortality, these brand new species certainly seem to have internalized it. Although rare, these flowers and trees always attract the eye by their intricate designs and color that is usually a golden amber.

These stemless flowers and shrubs flourish unexpectedly once every regeneration. Low above the ground, they display intricate shapes and complex foliage. They grow for one or two cycles before shrinking back to either their bulb or roots. They do not seem to seek resources, although they stay oriented toward the comets’ light.

Their peculiar color is yet not the strangest feature of these plants: indeed, they seem to produce unusual heat which appears as vapor that escapes their trunks or hearts.

## Crystallized organisms

In the center of the drylands and on the plateaux north of the Island, plants are less likely to have easy access to open sources of water. In the most deserted locations, the ground is sterile and precipitations are rare. The few plants and trees that populate these areas live in what could be called a dormant state. This can be explained by the history of the ground that suffered from the frost and became sterile once the cold era ended.

#### **Paper plants**

Unable to reach the groundwaters, which evaporated as temperatures rose and grounds dried and cracked, these plants have frozen in their growth and turned into living fossils. Deprived of nutrients, they have thinned out to the point of transparency. Petals like colorless parchment characterize the flowers of these unfortunate plants.

#### **Ash trees**

When it comes to trees that suffer from the same deprivation, they are stuck in winter. They grow no leaves or flowers; instead, their naked trunks and branches have turned a dark grey. Just like the growing trees, their roots lie above ground but are usually shorter and spread in all directions. This paradoxically make them usually steadier than their well-fed counterparts.

## About the Swamp

Although its ecosystem is not that different from the other water areas of the Island, the Swamp should be mentioned and quickly analyzed, as it is the territory of the Manjamaso and possess a few interesting qualities.

#### **Water plants**

Lying on what could be called a water bed, plants in this area benefit from optimal conditions of growth. Moreover, as it stands rather close to the hole, the swamp gets natural exposure to the light, which results in two things: very large colonies of flourishing plants with shorter roots, and wide trees.

It is also not so rare to observe floating plants, characterized by their colorful bulbs, move slowly along the current. These plants use their bulbs, usually filled with air, in order to stay above the water.

#### **Phosphorescent plants**

Apart from being the native ground of civilization, the swamp is also known for being a natural labyrinth filled with caves and underground natural chambers. Though some of these caves were formed after landslides, some of them emerged thanks to erosion caused by the underground sources. These caves are thus powerful incubators for some rare plants that developed a rare feature: the power to produce glucose thanks to self-produced light.

This is one striking phenomenon of plants adapting to their environment in order to produce an advance feeding system. Indeed, the glow produced by these plants, a mixture of ambient light seeking and smart chain reactions (for the plants that are closest to the natural light transmit energy to the neighbors and so on), reflects on the myriad of minerals of all types that cover the ceilings and walls of the underground chambers, producing in turn even more light for the plants to gather. This auto-recycling of light then allows the plants to create photosynthesis and produce more light.

However, in order to produce a constant source of light, these plants use a great amount of energy, which explains that their growth is much slower than that of the plants that grow above ground. Yet, these plants are numerous enough to create uniquely beautiful landscapes that lie beneath the ground.