Gymno

The **Gymno** are one of two major sub-groups of the Flora, a race of sentient plants. Galactically, they are known for their impenetrable bark-skin and their capability in warfare. Because of their natural resistance, the Gymno make up the bulk of the (Plant Race Faction)'s military; they also make up a sizable portion of the Coalition of Federated Star Systems planetary armies.

## Biology

The Gymno, along with their Angio counterparts, are a sub-species of the Flora and are native to the planet Piot. The name Gymno is derived from the human word gymnosperms, which are plants that produce seeds that are unprotected by an ovary. Much like the gymnosperms of Earth, Gymno are highly sturdy beings.

Most Gymno grow to be taller than humans with their average height being 6'03". Gymno builds are much more varied than their Angio counterparts with some being very thin and others having wide and intimidating builds. The skin of Gymno is layered and varies from Gymno to Gymno. Most Gymno possess an inner layer of heartwood that is followed by a layer of sapwood and then finally bark. The bark of Gymno is shed every few decades when new bark is formed underneath.

The wood of Gymno varies with most being brown, gray, or white. It has been observed that when grown on planets other than Piot, many Gymno adopt wood more fitting of the climate in which they were produced.

Resting on the scalps of Gymno are leaves that grow in a manner quite similar to the hair on human scalps. The leaves themselves correlate with the wood of the Gymno and come in a wide variety of designs, such as in pinnate, undulate, digitate, and more.

On account of Gymno being plants, they lack much of the sexual dimorphism that is seen in other races. However, there are a few minor differences between the sexes such as males growing pollen cones on their scalp every decade and females producing conifer cones in their breast chambers, which themselves are protected with thicker bark than the rest of the body. Regarding vocals, there is no difference between male and female; in general, the voices of Gymno are more in line with the vocals of female humans, albeit with a generally lower pitch.

Gymno mature much slower than humans with them not reaching adulthood until thirty six years of age. The process of Gymno reproduction mirrors that of non-asexual gymnosperms on Earth with the females bearing confier cones in their breast chambers that can be pollinated by males. Following pollination, the cone incubates for three months before the parent Gymno plant the cone in soil. Over the course of four years, the Gymno grows into a being that is quite similar to a human baby. From there on, the baby Gymno slowly matures into an adult over the subsequent thirty two years of life.

Gymno require three main resources to survive: water, nutrients, and sunlight. Gymno can consume water by simply bathing in it or drinking from a glass like humans do. Nutrients are gathered from soil via the root hairs that line the feet of Gymno; Gymno do not have a digestive system, meaning they are unable to eat foods like other races. As for sunlight, most Gymno require at least three hours of sunlight per day in order to remain healthy. Their dependence on sunlight led them to mutually create with the Angio a means to harness the power of stars into small light bulbs, which are found everywhere in Flora ships and architecture.

Compared to the other races of the Coalition, Gymno can live very long lives ranging between 600-10,000+. However, very few Gymno reach their latter thousands.

## History

Throughout most of their pre-space-faring history, the Gymno remained in conflict with their Angio brothers and sisters as well as other Gymno. Similar to humans, the Gymno divided themselves into primitive groups that eventually evolved into nation-states. Sometime nearly two thousand years ago, the Angio and Gymno of Piot collectively agreed to federate under a United Piot. Shortly after, the Angio and Gymno made contact with the Qerydon, who subsequently brought them to the galactic stage.

## Culture

The Gymno do not divvy expectations or roles based on gender as they lack a concept of gender. Despite this, most Gymno are fine with going by human pronouns when communicating with humans.