Plant Dragons

PLANT DRAGONS

SCIENTIFIC NAME- *Venenoflos Tranquilis*

DIET-Herbivore

HABITAT-Caves, dense humid forests.

APPEARANCE

About the size of an average bull, 8 feet long and 7 feet tall, Plant dragons should not be underestimated. They have a wingspan of about 20 feet, though they rarely fly. They have large rounded bodies, stubby tails and four short legs. The scales are extremely armored, especially around the spine and back of the head. They have larger wide heads, with teeth perfected for grinding down plants and even rocks. They have a variety of green and red colored scales, but most of this is covered by the actual plant matter growing all over them. They have the most eye color variety out of any known dragon, being seen in almost every color.

The newborn dragons start out completely green, with seed like red spots covering their backs. Over time, these spots become vibrant patterns of red if male. If female, they’ll disappear leaving a completely green color scheme. These spots have the ability to glow brightly if threatened, not only scarring off the predator but also alerting the adults around. Adult males still have this ability, but the light is much dimmer and now it’s only really used to intimate other males and win over females.

BEHAVIOR

These dragons live in large herds in Jioveros, but in Draelvary due to overhunting have retreated deep into caves. They’ll eat anything, they are immune to any poison or defense a plant might have. As most people know, they have healing saliva and a venomous bite. Some even think they might have the worst bite of any dragon. This is because when eating poisonous plants, they extract the poison from them and it is held in a venom sack connected to the teeth. They can stack several different poisons at once, so depending on the diet, being bitten by one could be like getting poisoned but by 10 different things at once. If these sacks get too full, they will empty them by gnawing on rocks.

They produce the healing saliva naturally, in a gland connected to the salivary gland under the tongue. They use this to lick themselves or each other after an attack. While it may heal deep wounds and burns quickly, it will not cure venom or sickness. Getting the saliva can be tricky, because one scrape of the teeth could be harmless or deadly. Luckily, most of the dragons are pretty docile unless around young. Also avoid doing this to a male around females, they’ll also get protective.

Almost no dragon or creature can get  through the sheer armor of the scales, other than night dragons. They don’t have any other defense mechinasim other than biting or simply ignoring a creature that is trying to bite them. Herds can reach sizes of around 15-20 members.

During breeding season, Males get much more aggressive and will push each other around, flashing their red scales at the females. They’ll try to win over as many females as they can while they are still in heat. When it comes to nesting, the herd will work together to level an area until nothing but soil remains, then begin to make several nests. Oddly, even if the young isn’t its own, males will still help raise them, but not before putting his own first. Each nest can contain up to 4 eggs.

All the eggs hatch around the same time, and any bad eggs are eaten by the siblings. They are about to walk and run only a few hours after being born, and once able to they will follow the parents to food instead of the parents bringing the food to them. As for flight, most don’t learn until at least a year old. Some don’t learn to fly at all, and only use the wings as a display structure. They only fly if truly necessary, and seeing as how most of the time creatures cannot injure them greatly, they don’t fly.

Once the young are old enough, the males are sent to find their own herds. This is where most die off, being alone. While they can kick and smash opponents using their weight and size, sometimes it isn't enough to ward off a larger predator.

COMPETITION

They have little to no competition in Draelvary. Since they now live in caves, mostly feeding on mushrooms and stone, they have little poison and most creatures that live in these caves have no chance of  taking them on. Night dragons hunt in the open, so they don’t have to worry about them either. Humans killed so many of them to make healing medicines and even poisons, but left the actual bodies. They did this by walking up to those who were docile, and tied the mouth shut, starving it. The dragons migrated to caves after years of this.

But in Jioveros, there are plenty of other herbivores to compete with. Even though this realm is a massive dense rainforest, they still feel the need to fight other species for rights to feeding grounds. They often win these, because of the armor no creature dares to attempt it. As for predators, night dragons are actually present in this realm. They are almost extinct however, most of the caves they used to reside in are now overgrown.

Plant powered crystal dragons are still carnivorous, and travel in packs, attacking the weak and old members of herds. Though, most of the time they would rather go up against a lone male.

KNOWN PLANT DRAGONS

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