Plant Dragon

* Juvenile
* Baby
* Elder
* Egg
 **DDLA Rank:** | 1

*People will love to come see your plant dragons play in their beautiful green habitat. They are the friendliest of all the dragon breeds and make great pets!*
    —Nogard's description of the **plant dragon** in The Book of Dragons
The **Plant Dragon** is a primary dragon of the Plant element.

## Appearance

     The plant dragon's skin is a bright verdant green, darker on the underbelly to mimic the shadows of the forest. Its narrow snout is ideal for poking into dense foliage. Its teeth are small and peg-like for grinding and crushing. Its eyes are located along the sides of its head, so it can see everywhere except right behind it. Its wings are broad and feathered, ideal for short bursts of speed and treading through dense canopy. Its feet have two toes and tough pads. The tendrils on its tail are prehensile, meaning the dragon can grab things with them. It can fan out the “leaves” on its head to intimidate predators or rival mates.

* Egg
* Baby Stage
* Juvenile Stage
* Adult Stage
* Elder Stage

The egg is a pale white color, with streaks of green running down the surface in wavy patterns.

During the baby stage, the dragon's head is large, its wings are small, and it hops rather than walks. It can already grab things with the tendrils on its tail though. Its mane is barely starting to develop.

The wings grow spinier, more like a fan, and the three stalks on its tail grow to larger sizes. Its face elongates, and its leafy mane begins to grow. Its feet grow more muscular, and it can stand up fully.

The body grows longer, more serpentine, and the wings grow even bigger. Its legs grow longer and more muscular. Other than that, nothing more happens.

In the majestic elder stage, many more leaves grow on the plant dragon's mane, and four stalks grow from the edge. Its wings are now more gradient, going from dark to light green. At the end of its tail, there are now seven stalks, which are now tipped with yellow.

### Subvariants

* Common Plant Dragon
* Canopial Plant Dragon
* Fungal Plant Dragon
* Boreal Plant Dragon

The common plant dragons are the ones that are commonly bred and sold to use in parks. They inhabit the grassland fields of Adnalanda. Their body contains a lot of chlorophyll, and they photosynthesise by taking long naps in a sun-exposed spot.

This variant lives in rainforests, where they mostly inhabit the upper layers of trees. Their scales are rather darker than the common one's, and their tails are more prehensile to swing from tree to tree. The thick leaves in the rainforest make them need to photosynthesise less, so they take in more energy from eating.

These plant dragons live around mossy caves and boulders. They have no chlorophyll, and thus are a dull greyish colour. They feed off of the moss that grows on the boulders and caves, and occasionally straight off the backs of moss dragons.

This variant lives much more in the north, near Ronstreet. These dragons don't differ much in appearance from the original. They have a larger wingspan, to help them fly at higher altitudes. They have longer and stronger beaks, to help them eat plants native to the habitat, like acorns. Their eyes are adjusted to the longer nights and days (depending on the season) in colder climates.

## Abilities

### Weapons

The plant dragon does not seem to have much weapons. Some sources say that plant dragon saliva is venomous, but since the dragon in question is known for being non-violent, it is unknown if this is true. When threatened and have no choice but fighting, they will use their pretty sharp claws and their wings and try to overcome the opponent with their number and reinforcements. A whole tribe of plant dragons can even overcome a horde of evergreen dragons.

### Defenses

The leaf-like structure the plant dragon's wings and its brilliant green skin allow it to camouflage well in the wilderness. Plant dragons' soft foot pads allow them to walk with absolute silence. They are fast runners and good fliers; an ideal choice for a riding dragon for a beginner who isn't too heavy. When threatened, they fan out their manes and feathers to appear bigger.

### Other Abilities

The plant dragon's tail and mane, due to some odd and little understood magic, bloom into flowers with delightful aromas when treated like living plants (given light, watered), which helps the plant dragon to attract a mate. In time, plant dragons learn to identify the scent of every plant dragon's aromatic blossoms.

### Breath Weapon

The breath of the plant dragon contains plant growth hormones, which causes any species of flora to grow and flourish. This breath weapon takes time to recharge, but females' is more powerful.

### Weaknesses

Plant dragons are gentle creatures and not as fierce as other dragons. They survive mainly by hiding in the forest and enclosing their villages in impenetrable foliage rather than fighting other dragons. They are also very curious, making them easy to lure into the open. If not exposed enough to the color green, they will go crazy.

## Habitat

### Regions

The largest stable populations are found in  the Great Forest, Forests of Farn, Cadberry Meadows, and Ulster Meadows, but plant dragons live practically worldwide. However, they try to avoid caves and deserts due to their lack of vegetation.

Canopial plant dragons hang out in the Southern Tropics, usually.

Fungal plant dragons will live in northern areas, like Ulster Meadows.

### Preferred Home

Plant dragons live in any area with an abundance of plants, from jungles to icy taiga to grasslands. When kept by wizards, they make homes in garden beds and potted plants. Without plants, they will languish, become depressed and die.

### Sheltering/Nesting

In forests, they build domed shelters from woven branches and leaves, which are large enough to hold three adult dragons. They often weave together living saplings to make their homes and as the saplings grow up they form strong frames that can last through many generations of dragons. Plant dragons in cooler climates hibernate during winter months, burying themselves in a thick layer of fallen leaves. Plant dragons often use their breath to grow the plants around their villages into an impenetrable thicket for defense.

### Population Count

 Cadberry Meadows | 2
 Ulster Meadows | 3
 Forests of Farn | 4
 Southern Tropics | 5

## Diet

Plant dragons, in contrast to the popular perception of dragons, are completely vegan. The thought of killing and eating another animal, even a tiny flea, is revolting to plant dragons. They feed on leaves, shoots, berries, fruits, nuts, mosses, and grasses. Before eating, they check carefully to make sure there are no insects in or on their food that they might accidentally ingest. If a plant dragon accidentally eats or injures even a tiny ant, it must go through a purification ceremony and fast for three days and nights.

Some plant dragon tribes, believing it is wrong to kill even plants, do not eat at all and use chloromancy magic to get energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. They drink water and consume dirt or clay for minerals, however. Since they eat clay, those tribes are considered petrivores.

## Lifestyle

### Behavior and Personality

Plant dragons are peaceful, happy, and calm creatures. They are very compassionate and are known to adopt and raise orphaned baby dragons. Male plant dragons are known to laze about, while the female uses her breath to grow plants, forages, and watches for predators, similar to the behavioral traits of a lion. Plant dragons are also remarkably curious, and can't resist investigating any strange object, which unfortunately makes them very easy for hunters or evil wizards to capture.

### Social Order

Plant dragons live in tribes led by a council of elders. Dragons with the Plant element are the most social of all dragons. Plant dragons can get along well with nearly any other dragon of the Plant element, and other elements too, even the Metal, despite it being its opposite.

Plant dragon tribes often move around every year or so, if food is hard to find or if predators threaten it. This may cause competition between tribes.

It is well known that plant dragons often adopt outsiders into their tribes. Sometimes they will even try to adopt a wizard, perhaps thinking he's an especially bald, ugly baby dragon.

### Relationship to Wizards

Plant dragons are known for their friendliness. Young plant dragons will often follow wizards around, wanting to be petted or given treats. Older ones are usually shy and elusive, but they are friendly and hospitable to humans after their initial mistrust is overcome. Usually, they are extremely docile and easy to tame, but elder/adult males and females protecting their babies can become somewhat aggressive. They are excellent riding dragons for beginners.

The DDLA has ranked the Plant Dragon at level 1, as they pose practically no major threat to wizards and humans.

## When in a park

### Breeding

Most plant dragons in parks are bought from the Market with DragonCash, and plant dragons are provided to each new park owner, as the easiest dragon to care for. However, they can also be bred by breeding a plant dragon or a metal dragon with an ironwood dragon or a malachite dragon. They can also be bred by breeding a plant dragon with a thorn dragon during the time the thorn dragon isn't available in parks. Breeding two plant dragons will always get you a plant dragon except during the time the motley dragon is available in parks.

### Habitats

Plant dragons are only comfortable living in Plant habitats and Omnitats. The other habitats don't have enough plants in them to make the dragon happy.

### How to care for

Plant dragons are very playful and friendly and do not need much special care. Infants need lots of water to replenish their strength, but this is easy to provide, especially for hydromancers. If their habitat is not filled with plants, they will fall into depression.

### Dragon Compatibility

Plant dragons are the least picky when it comes to who they share their habitat. They are friendly toward almost all other dragons and will accept them as their own. They will only go badly with a dragon who is willing to destroy the plants in the habitat.

### Favorite Treat

Plant dragons like every type of treat with no preferences.

## Life Cycle

### Mating

The male dragon often dances and displays its mane to attract females, which then furthers its role in the breeding times, which take place every three months. The breeding times are in line with the seasons, occurring on the equinoxes and solstices. They each have different traditions. On the summer solstice, males will perform group dances, to win the heart of all the females. On the spring equinox, males will collect flowers for the female. On the winter solstice, most of the mating is done underground, out of the cold. Vines and moss are used to make dances more beautiful.

### Birth

Once they have mated, plant dragons go alone into the forest to find a suitable hiding place for the egg. Mother plant dragons rest in hidden places deep in the forest during their pregnancy, and when the egg is laid it is stored beneath the roots of an ancient tree until hatched. The oldest trees in a forest have a magic that protects and strengthens the developing baby. Wizards are not sure if this is Chloromancy or perhaps the more recently discovered and much more powerful Origimancy. Some speculate it's a hybrid of both styles.

### Infancy

After the newborn plant dragon's mother returns to retrieve the dragonling, she returns to the tribe and takes care of the baby with the help of local female plant dragons. Young plant dragons are particularly curious, but easily frightened. Their mother usually never let's them out of their sight.

### Adolescence

After the young plant dragon is able to fly, it searches for its father, who may belong to the plant dragon's own tribe or to another tribe, and will be awaiting the juvenile in the forest. If the young plant dragon is successful in its search, it will live alone with its father for many months, away from the tribe. The father teaches and readies the young one until it is ready to survive on its own.

### Adulthood

Every plant dragon, once they have learned all they must know to be a plant dragon settles into the nearest forest, where they join the residential clan of plant dragons.

### Lifespan

Plant dragons can live 50 to 60 years but if they become elders these dragons can supposedly live to lengths of at least a millennium.

## History

### Discovery

Plant dragons have been around for as long as the human race has existed, and the origins are unclear and vary in stories. Mythology claims that the first plant dragon was the first son of the first sun dragon and the first moon dragon. Plant dragons were the first dragons to be recognized by the earliest settlers. Artwork from the Burcadian era tells us that plant dragons were known from the earliest recorded times.

### Origin of Name

The name "plant dragon" was originally given to contrast their herbivorous diet from the diet of other dragons. All other dragons known at the time were carnivores. The original name was 'plant-eating dragon' but it was popularly shortened to 'plant.' The name turned out to be very appropriate, and dragon scholars retained it when they began categorizing the dragons.

### Burcadian Civilization

The plant dragon is one of the most popular and influential dragons in Burcadian culture. The female plant dragon's ability to make plants grow inspired farming for the Burcadians.

### The Great Plant Migration

When the dark wizard Torbin the Wicked threatened to destroy the Krollsmarsh, the home of the plant dragons, the ancient plant dragon, Thornbark, led his tribe halfway across a continent to reach the Great Forest. Later, this event became widely known throughout the world, being dubbed "The Great Plant Migration". Though Thornbark is a rather mythologized figure, his contribution to the history and perhaps even the survival of plant dragons is undeniable. The Krollsmarsh has been growing back after the centuries, but it is still barren after its destruction.

## Magic

Plant dragons are associated with chloromancy and healing magic.

## Trivia

* The plant dragon holds the record for most common dragon in the world, according to the Diagio Book of World Records, with a global population of approximately 30 million.

## Notable Plant Dragons

* Thornbark
* Leif (Julian the Fair)
* Fern (The Great Nogard)
* Topiary (Nadia)
* Flora (Gardenia)
* The First Bonded Plant Dragon (The First Wizard)
* Demeter (Dalvan the Fifth)
* Oakley (Sirotta Miller)
* Jasmine (Astrid the Breezer)
* Oaktree (Craeporus Vonn Wietsius)
* Yucca (Silvia Luxill)
* Grassblade

## Wizards and Witches Associated with the Plant Dragon

* Julian the Fair
* Nadia
* The First Wizard

**Primary**
***Plant Dragon***

**Hybrids**
*Poison Dragon* - *Flower Dragon* - *Tree Dragon* - *Moss Dragon* - *Evergreen Dragon* - *Lichen Dragon* - *Cactus Dragon* - *Ash Dragon* - *Swamp Dragon* - *Seaweed Dragon* - *Pollen Dragon* - *Willow Dragon* - *Ironwood Dragon* - *Malachite Dragon* - *Meadow Dragon* - *Luminous Dragon* - *Fungus Dragon* - *Nightshade Dragon*

 **Golden Hybrids**
*Pepper Dragon* - *Forest Dragon* - *Conifer Dragon* - *Ivy Dragon* - *Thistle Dragon* - *Orchid Dragon* - *Thorn Dragon* - *Bramble Dragon*