Arida's water plants
| The water plants of Arida are descended from the Promordia Photosynthia,
which was carried on the wind into the estuaries on the eastern shore of
the Unola Ocean.
The single cell organism contained chloroplasts, mitochndria and a nucleus.
Once it reached the relatively sheltered waters of the estuaries, it diversified
and multiplied, giving rise to the Heliotropus - the first form of water
plants on Arida.
In the shallows of the estuaries the mixture of fresh and saline wated
provided a high level of nutrients for Heliotropus. The relative calm of
the waters, protected from the tides and more severe winds of the ocean,
allowed Heliotropus to flourish. |
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The uni-cellular Primordia Photosynthia.
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| From it's unicellular origins some 700 million years age, Heliotropus
evolved
into a multi-cellular plant in some ways similar to kelp. It is ribbon-like
and slippery, with most of its mass just below the surface of the water
where it can absorb the most sunlight.
The earlier forms of the species had neither roots nor holdfasts because
of the benign environment in which they first developed. |
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Descending into the shallows are strands of rubbery substance which
provide additional surface area for the absorption of nutrients from the
water. The earliest forms of Heliotropus were green at the top and brown
below the surface of the water. The change in color was due to the different
exposure to light, with the lighter color being near the surface of the
water. |
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After about 200 million years, Heliotropus found the nutrients available
in the lagoons were getting scarce. As a result it needed to survive in
the Intertidal Zone, were the ocean currents and winds we far more severe.
In order to do this it Heliotropic, as the
new species became known, evolved to grow holdfasts on the lower end of
the ribbon-like sub-surface portions of the plant. With these, it was able
to secure itself to the rocky sea shore and obtain more nutrients from
the ocean.
As it grew more hardy in the Intertidal Zone, some of Heliotropic would
break away in severe storms and be washed out to sea. At first they could
not survive and would sink to the bottom of the ocean. Over time they Heliotropic
evolved by growing floaters into Helios, a
deep water plant that was able to survive by floating near to the surface
of the ocean with long, ribbon-like tentacles snaking downwards toward
the ocean floor.
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