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 Post subject: Raintrees
PostPosted: June 6th, 2012, 7:43 pm 
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A raintree is something that I was pretty sure exists in the real world... But I suppose it doesn't go by that name. :rofl: These trees are large and pretty short in comparison to other trees of the jungle, being about two to three stories high. Their low center of gravity allows them to have a broad canopy. These trees also sport broad leaves. Small traveling families of Aquila will camp in these protective branches as they roam around the heart of Virgultis.

Which reminds me, the raintree is common at the edge of the deeper parts of the jungles, converging around the drier mountains that spike in the middle of the continent.

They are mainly used as temporary homes as their wood is too spongy for bows or arrows. It's a bit fragile in comparison to other types. They do lose their leaves around the summer time, which might be seen as odd, but then their branches are covered with yellow or red blossoms. Yellow is rarer. These used to live in abundance around Virgultis, but now the species is limited to the Lush Providence in the east due to being a very delicate organism. A change in the biology can easily kill an entire forest of raintrees.

They are most vulnerable to the cactus beetle, which has been seen migrating north from the desert on rare occasions. These beetles are adept at drilling through the spongy material in cactus, of which the raintree shares. The beetle will drill through with a sharp tongue and then eat the insides. At some point, the beetle will also lay eggs within the tree, mistaking it for a cactus plant (which have tougher skin in my world than the average cactus), and die. These larvae will also eat the insides.

Since there are no birds or other predators in the jungle adept at eating the beetle (other than a woodpecker, which don't eat from raintrees since the plant usually does a good job deflecting parasites with it's tough bark), their numbers increase until the tree is nothing but a hollow shell. When this happens, the humidity in the air kills the larvae. This removes the threat of this species from invading, but the tree dies, none the less.

The wood that comes from this is seen as useless and is nicknamed 'bugwood'.


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 Post subject: Re: Raintrees
PostPosted: June 15th, 2012, 10:05 am 
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Once the tree is hollow, do other creatures find ways to live in there? I imagine that would be a great hideaway.

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 Post subject: Re: Raintrees
PostPosted: June 15th, 2012, 10:14 am 
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These sound really cool. :D Did you make that picture?


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 Post subject: Re: Raintrees
PostPosted: June 15th, 2012, 11:51 am 
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Lady Kitra Mimetes wrote:
Once the tree is hollow, do other creatures find ways to live in there? I imagine that would be a great hideaway.


That's actually a really good idea. :D

Lycanis Mimetes wrote:
These sound really cool. :D Did you make that picture?


No, I googled it. :) And thanks!

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 Post subject: Re: Raintrees
PostPosted: June 15th, 2012, 12:07 pm 
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Seabird Mimetes wrote:
No, I googled it. :) And thanks!


Cool, I've been doing that too. :) You're welcome!


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