»[3] flora

[Eywas gsgesssss]

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• The Anemonid or Pennanemone Cilare is one of several carnivorous plants on Pandora that obtains most of its nutrition from other organisms rather than making its own through photosynthesis. It has the Na'vi name Fngapsutxwll, or "metal-following plant". The large, flattened meristem at the top of the plant is covered with a sticky aromatic substance that attracts insects, which are quickly trapped once they land. Digestive enzymes on the plant's surface then break down the insect bodies to obtain nitrogen and other unique elements.

• The anemonid is rather unique in another feature - its roots absorb metals from the soil rather than the typical mineral elements needed for plant growth. This gives the plant the ability to move in response to a magnetic field, which was named magnetonasty by the first scientists who studied this behaviour. The anemonids will turn and lean toward anyone walking by carrying a metal object.

• Research is under way on earth to determine whether anemonids could be used in bio remediation to detoxify soil contaminated with heavy metals, or possibly as a tool for mining. Results have so far been inconclusive.

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• The Baja Tickler resembles no plant growth form on Earth and is unique on Pandora. It has been described as something like a large hollow tree that grows at an incline. A cluster of large spiny leaves adorn the top, and large roots extend out from the underside of the stem, growing into the soil and helping to anchor and prop up the plant. The surface is rough and green due to to a dense covering of small mosslike plants that can withstand high temperatures and harsh conditions.

• The Baja Tickler is one of the most important plants on Pandora. It is also one of the most dangerous. It plays an important role on the moon by helping to detoxify the atmosphere. Toxic gases (mostly volcanic in origin) are absorbed into the plant body, where they dissolve into a pool of watery liquid that accumulates inside. This primeval 'soup' periodically builds up pressure and temperature and is squirted explosively in a toxic plume from the top of the plant. The Na'vi recognize both the value and potential danger of the plant and mainly avoid it. The Na'vi name for it is Txumtsa'wll, or "poison-squirting plant".

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• This species grows high in the canopy and, by virtue of its inaccessibility, is considered to be a more special treat. It is considered very lucky to find this species uneaten on the ground, and many Na'vi will wait until they are back at Hometree to show it to others before eating. It is considered good manners to offer the find to a friend or loved one. It is also customary to refuse such an offer while insisting that Eywa meant for the fruit to be enjoyed by the finder.

• A common joke is to pretend to accept the offered utu mauti, and begin to take a bite before then declining and giving it back to the lucky "finder."

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• Full name Bansheba Tetterstre (wailing earth), Na'vi name Awaiei. A large exotic looking herb with curved, tubular plant body, long spines, and large edible seeds. When the wind blows though the tubular body, a wailing sound is emitted, for which it was named.

• By using an infrared sensing gland, the Banshee of Paradise can pinpoint locations of any nearby creature or threat, and ejects very large, poison filled spines at its target. This mechanism makes it the most dangerous flora of all Pandora. Some activist believe that these flora are being used as a natural defensive barrier around RDA outposts.

• Na'vi have been known to blow through the tubular stem as a horn to alert intruders to stay away. Also, the seeds of the Banshee of Paradise are common food source for the Na'vi. The large seeds grow on the backside of the plant, allowing somewhat safe harvesting.

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• This herbaceous plant is unusual due to its advanced mechanism of Bioluminescence. The leaves of the plant are modified into enclosed bulbous structures that resemble Earth-made lamps when they glow. These are able to detect the presence of danger by sensing the emission of volatile stress hormones from living organisms. For the Na’vi, the colors emitted by the glowing leaves signal whether the landscape is calm or danger is near. The Binary sunshine reproduces when a leaf falls or removed from the plant body onto the ground. The leaf then produces adventitious roots from its base and begins growing as an independent ‘plananimal’.

• The Na’vi collect these leaves and plant them at strategic points to be used as sentinels to signal approaching threats.

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• Bioluminescence is a way of living organisms to emit light. It is employed by nearly all Pandoran animals. Even the Na'vi have patterns of glowing dots that are unique to each individual. To avoid being detected by predators or prey, animals can damp down their own light. The RDA exploited it as another resource in the form of exotic jewelry and clothing.

• Most of Pandora's flora and fauna emits only one single color, often green, blue, indigo, or violet. There are exceptions like the Warbonnet Fern. Its leaves are illuminated by a broad band of red near their stems and by an iridescent blue near their tips. On Pandora, there is also a bioluminescent moss that is touch-sensitive. It will send out rings of blue-green light as a reaction to footsteps.

• Bioluminescence is an enzymatic reaction that produces so called cold light. This reaction raises the valence electrons in the molecules of an organic compound to an orbit of higher energy. While decaying to its original state the electrons emit photons of visible light. It is a highly efficient reaction as it converts nearly all energy into light.

• The reaction can occur within the metabolism of the creature or within symbiotic organisms that live inside of specialized organs, receiving food and oxygen from their host, and producing light in return.

• There are several ways in which light production can be controlled:
    -Limiting the availability of the involved chemicals
    -The reaction takes place in an organ that can be moved away from the surface
    - A translucent muscle carries the light from an internal organ to the surface by expansion and contraction
    -Covering of the light producing area with dark pigment cells (melanophores)
    -A dark membrane that can be drawn over the light producing area

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• The Cat Ear is a woody stem zooplantae, covered with modified leaves resembling cat ears. These are collected by the Na'vi as musical instruments due to the sound produced when wind moves across the leaves of the plant.

• This species is both musical and beautiful with characteristics of both plants and animals. Cup-shaped leaves, which resemble cat ears and grow all over the stems of the Cat Ear. Inside the base of each plant, a small flower forms which when emerging, resembles small whiskers. The music is produced by wind passing over the leaves of the plananimal and varied by the size of the specific plananimal and resemble a small symphony when in a collective group. Besides this ability to produce music, this plananimal has the uncanny ability to turn in the direction of movement and track it. This 'tracking' can become disconcerting to humans who feel as if they are being watched as the plant turns in response to their presence.

• The behaviour of this zooplantae has led xenobotanisits to label these odd creatures as straddling on the 'evolutionary fence' of both plants and animals.

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• The chalice plant is one of three large pitcher-shaped plants known to exist on Pandora and is the largest carnivorous plant known to man. It's single large leaf is modified into a giant pitcher-shaped tube that is supported by small prop roots at the base. The plant has only a small root system and obtains most of its nutrition from digesting small animals rather than from absorption from the soil. Animals are attracted to nectar and crawl into the tubular plant, where they are unable to exit due to stiff, downward-pointing hairs inside. There they drown in water that collects in the pitcher, and digestive enzymes break down the animal's tissues for absoption by the plant.

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• The Delta Tree is one of two Magellum species living in forests of Pandora.

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• Like much of the flora and fauna on Pandora, fruit and vegetables potentially grow up to colossal size. Giant fruit growing on variety of trees near Hometree provide a valuable source of food for the Na'vi. The fruit is dissected to be eaten immediately, or packaged in large leaves for disribution and/or storage.

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• Helicoradian (also known as Loreyu, meaning "beautiful spiral") is a zooplantae (part animal, part plant) possessing a single leaf that responds to touch by coiling up and retracting to the ground. Its neuromuscular system makes it difficult for xenobiologists to classify. Helicoradia can grow to 6-8 meters (20-26 feet) in height and 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) across.

• The Na'vi use leaves of the Helicoradian ornate ceremonial robes and other garments, tents and sacks. Orange pigments in leaves can be extracted and used for paint.

• The helicoradian is a type of "sensitive zooplantae" that responds to touch by coiling up so that the single large leaf is no longer exposed to any herbivores that would eat it. Because it grows in clusters, the touch response, by one helicoradian often triggers the same response in others growing nearby so that the entire population recoils, one plant after another. This retraction is both defensive and an effective feeding mechanism to trap insects and small animals.

• The Na'vi are able to wander among the helicoradian without triggering this defense response, but are warned of the presence of danger when the helicoradian start to retract.

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• Some botanists believe that the octoshroom's immense size is due to the dense atmosphere and low gravity of Pandora. Other scientists, however, attribute its gigantism to irradiation resulting from underground exposure to xenon isotopes and radioactive uranium oxides. Most of the body lives underground as the mycelia network.

• To reproduce, octoshrooms release spores that germinate and grow filaments wherever they land.

• Some mycelia penetrate plant roots to absorb carbohydrates while providing the body with a greater supply of mineral nutrients. Octoshrooms are able to absorb and break down nearly everything in the soil such as chlorine, ammonia, and methane.

• Following the 1986 Chernobyl incident on Earth, a similar fungus was discovered, but not fully understood. When scientists realized that the octoshroom used ionizing radiation as energy for growth, scientists were able to further understand the metabolism of the Chernobyl fungus. Because it is an effective antivenom, there are currently studies underway regarding the octoshroom in the pharmaceutical and bioremediation industries.

• The Na'vi use the octoshroom's roots to make tea. It is a powerful antivenom effective against the sting of many venomous animals. Too much tea, however, has been proven toxic and sometimes lethal.

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• The Push Fruit Tree (Na'vi name: Utral utu mauti, "push fruit tree") is a fruit tree from which Banana Fruit grows from, and is used as a food source and a special treat by Na'vi.

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• The Twisted Lily (Na'vi name: Minyu, "turner") is a tall, planimal plant and it is widely found on Pandora.

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• The Unidelta Tree (also called Magellum Deltoids), is a small tree found on Pandora. It has the Na'vi name Tsawlapxangrr or "tall large root."

• The unidelta tree, closely related to the Delta Tree, has one important difference. Its leaves are not toxic, however it roots are highly toxic. When the two species trees grow close together their roots form connections underground and then the toxin from the unidelta tree passes on to the delta tree, making its roots toxic as well.

• These two Magellum species have coevolved a mutualistic relationship that benefits them both. The unidelta tree shares its root toxin with the delta tree, which does not need to expend energy making its own, and the delta tree shares nutrients with the unidelta tree. The only sign that toxin has been transfered is a subtle change in the bioluminescense of the tree leaves at night, which the Na'vi have learned to identify. Animals have also learned to avoid feeding on the roots of both trees, making it an excellent defense mechanism for both plants.

• The unidelta tree wood is harvested to make canoes, and the thick waxy leaf cuticle is melted down and used for waterproofing. The leaves themselves, which are non-toxic are then used to make bowls, since they are naturaly waterproofed. The spines are then used by the Na'vi to make tools, as well as weapons for hunting and fishing. Because of their close array, the unidelta tree is the tree of choice for a performance of the pendulum drums.

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• The Warbonnet (Na'vi name: Eyaye) is a large, herbaceous, fern-like plant with colourful iridescent blue leaves. It is widely found on Pandora.

• The most striking feature of the warbonnet fern is the iridescent blue of the leaves, which contain abundant anthocyanin pigments. These pigments are light-reactive chemicals that reflect blue light and that give color to blue and purple flowers and fruit.

• The Na'vi use this plant as headwear during times of both war and peace. The similarity to Native American headwear made from feathers is obvious, as Pandoran colonists have noted.

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• A Zooplantae is a hybrid life-form that has characteristics of both plant and animal, including a nervous system more animal-like than plant-like. For example, a Cat Ear is a Zooplantae.

• Colloquially known as a "Plananimal."

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