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Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology: Difference between revisions
Oni2:Slaves of War/Neo-Biology (view source)
Revision as of 19:15, 31 January 2020
, 31 January 2020bringing in plant/fungi-related material from "Science Stuff"; much, much more to come
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Below are some attempts at conceiving of what plant life and other foreign life would be encountered in the Wilderness. | Below are some attempts at conceiving of what plant life and other foreign life would be encountered in the Wilderness. | ||
==Fictional | ==Fictional plants== | ||
*Myst III: Exile. After two games set in mostly lifeless worlds, Myst III (under new developers) moved in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0 a more organic direction]. Notice that some puzzles involve divining the workings of plants and the minds of animals. Of course Oni is pretty much on the other side of the action/thinking spectrum from a game like Myst, but there's still food for thought here. | *Myst III: Exile. After two games set in mostly lifeless worlds, Myst III (under new developers) moved in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAShllUlEK0 a more organic direction]. Notice that some puzzles involve divining the workings of plants and the minds of animals. Of course Oni is pretty much on the other side of the action/thinking spectrum from a game like Myst, but there's still food for thought here. | ||
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*The [[wp:Bladderwort|bladderwort]] has a complex vacuum-powered flushing trap that catches bugs instantly. | *The [[wp:Bladderwort|bladderwort]] has a complex vacuum-powered flushing trap that catches bugs instantly. | ||
*One carnivorous plant, [http://news.yahoo.com/carnivorous-plants-employ-bodyguard-ants-213207637.html Nepenthes Bicalcarata], has bodyguard ants. | |||
===Motile plants=== | ===Motile plants=== | ||
*[[wp:Tumbleweed|Tumbleweed]] | *[[wp:Tumbleweed|Tumbleweed]] | ||
*Witness [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTljaIVseTc how vines find something to cling to]. | |||
===Resurrection plants=== | ===Resurrection plants=== | ||
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===[[wp:Parasitic plant|Parasitic plants]]=== | ===[[wp:Parasitic plant|Parasitic plants]]=== | ||
Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, some plants have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wp:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [[wp:File:Hyaloperonospora-parasitica-hyphae-haustoria.jpg|winding into the host plant's cellular structure]] and sucking on cytoplasm. Eventually they can expand from inside of the host, replacing it with the parasite's body. Haustoria are traditionally used by fungi like mildew, putting parasitic plants in a strange middle ground between their autotrophic brethren and the separate Kingdom Fungi. | Plants are supposed to be autotrophic, meaning that they manufacture their own food (unlike animals). The key to autotrophism is photosynthesis. However, some plants have decided to take a detour off of Photosynthesis Road and into Parasite Alley. They use a special root known as a [[wp:haustorium|haustorium]]. Rather than pulling nutrients from the ground, this root pulls nutrients directly from another plant. It works by [[wp:File:Hyaloperonospora-parasitica-hyphae-haustoria.jpg|winding into the host plant's cellular structure]] and sucking on cytoplasm. Eventually they can expand from inside of the host, replacing it with the parasite's body. Haustoria are traditionally used by fungi like mildew, putting parasitic plants in a strange middle ground between their autotrophic brethren and the separate Kingdom Fungi. | ||
===Miscellaneous plants=== | |||
[[wp:Eucalyptus deglupta|Rainbow eucalyptus trees]] are probably the most colorful trees in the world. | |||
==Non-plant parasites== | ==Non-plant parasites== | ||
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===Fungi=== | ===Fungi=== | ||
The most frightening fungi are the ones that modify their host's behaviors. For instance, [[wp:Ophiocordyceps unilateralis|Ophiocordyceps unilateralis]] causes the infected host ant to clamp to the main vein of a leaf, "about 25cm above the ground, on the northern side of the plant, in an environment with 94-95% humidity and temperatures between 20 and 30°C", where it dies when the fungus emerges from its brain on a stalk and releases its spores. | The most frightening fungi are the ones that modify their host's behaviors. For instance, [[wp:Ophiocordyceps unilateralis|Ophiocordyceps unilateralis]] causes the infected host ant to clamp to the main vein of a leaf, "about 25cm above the ground, on the northern side of the plant, in an environment with 94-95% humidity and temperatures between 20 and 30°C", where it dies when the fungus emerges from its brain on a stalk and releases its spores. | ||
The [[wp:Phallus_indusiatus|Veiled lady]] is a mushroom with a skirt! In one African tongue, these are called “house of the millipede”. | |||
Some mushrooms have caps that [[wp:Turbinellus_kauffmanii|break into scales]]. | |||
Some fungi [[wp:Foxfire|create light]]. | |||
===Insects=== | ===Insects=== | ||