Plant and Animal Species Concepts

Some concept ideas for species of plant and animals that are still in the making.

ICECLOUD PLANT

-The Icecloud plant looks like clouds/cotton, but it is very cold to the touch. It thrives on the Ice planet underground. The inside of the plant is actually warm, it’s the outside of the plant that keeps the heat in. Small crystals often form in the cotton.

-The texture is very fibrous, and impossible in its natural state for the body to digest. However it has a sweet, vanilla-like taste, and a pleasant smell.

-Uses: Primary use: Clothing. Very warm as it keeps the heat in and the cold out. It is also good insulating material for housing, etc. They like to stuff it inside of pillows, blankets, coats, etc, or knit it like wool into things like mittens, scarves, sweaters, etc.

-Secondary Uses: -Icecloud Extract can be added to food to enhance flavour. It is like vanilla extract but milder and sweeter in flavour without the bitterness. The liquid is clear and thin like water. It is especially good for desserts, but also makes fantastic curries and soup bases.

-Icecloud Oil can be used as a lubricant for machinery as it is very oily and doesn’t tend to dry out.

-Berries: Ice cloud berries are blue and are poisonous if eaten straight up. It is the seeds inside that are poisonous however, and if properly prepared (such as by an experienced chef) they are delicious in Mexican and curry dishes. They have a completely different flavour than the cotton-like substance. The berries are actually very spicy and are used in places of peppers with a mildly sweet, nutty flavour. They are very strong and you don’t need very many to spice up your food. Use sparingly, like you would garlic cloves or a hot chili pepper. 📷

MYRIAD RUVOSA (The Invincible Weed)

Myriad ruvosa are so widespread that you can find them on more than one planet. They litter the earth-like planet like weeds, little pink bulbed flowers that kind of look like snow. They have orange bulbs inside of them that are hard and shiny, similar to marbles. However you can also find them on planets with hard-to-grow conditions. Such as the Ice planet underground. Myriad Ruvosa are a parasitic plant and you must be very careful when growing it near other plants. It’s a crawler, meaning the plant will actually move to be near other plants. What it does is when it blooms, the orange bulbs inside of the plant, which contain all the genetic information roll out with a will of their own. They will latch onto the closest plant and the orange ball will “melt” into the roots and start merging with them. They are plants that starve for oxygen and they will suck out all gases and nutrients of the other plants trying to achieve that goal. To kill one you have to completely pull it out by its roots and make sure there is no fragment of the orange bulbs left anywhere.

Uses: The pink flower is harmless. You can grind it into a fine powder that is great to make dyes for clothing and fabrics. It can also be eaten, although it is very mild in flavour, it is rich in nutrients due to the amount of nutrients it steals from other plants. Some call it the “superfruit” because it is so concentrated in nutrients from stealing it from other plants that it has all the nutrients in one plant that you need to eat for an entire day. Therefore people like to add it to soups and salads to keep them full for longer and to get their daily dose of vitamins. They are also used to make vitamin pills for this reason.

The orange bulbs are tasty just eaten by themselves and can be picked and eaten like tomatoes. They are very sweet, like eating candied dates, and are often added to salads and desserts or just eaten raw. Lots of people like to make pie out of them because they are so common.

The roots of the Myriad Ruvosa are also useful in medicine. They tend to soothe stomach aches and digestion issues and boost immune systems against many different types of illnesses. However they are known to raise blood pressure and may not be good for diabetics to eat. They are absolutely loaded with sugar, the entire plant is, and one must eat them in moderation.

The leaves or juice/sap can be rubbed on burns or bites for soothing purposes.

Consuming TOO MUCH of this plant can lead to cancer, upset stomach, high blood sugar, swelling of the eyes, hallucinations, and even death. 📷

MYRIAD KUVOSA (Also called the “Breath of Life”)

The name is similar to the plant above because these two plants share an interesting chemistry with each other.

Myriad Kuvosa actually NEEDS the parasitic nature of Myriad Ruvosa to survive. Because Myriad Kuvosa breathes in carbon dioxide and converts it into huge amounts of oxygen. They in fact, release so much of it, that it would crowd out their own supply of carbon dioxide if it weren’t for their twin, Myriad Ruvosa. These two plants cling onto each other tightly with their roots and exchange gases constantly to survive. Neither can survive alone. If taken away from Myriad Ruvosa, Myriad Kuvosa would die, because there is no other known parasitic plant that is nearly as needy as Ruvosa is. However, Ruvosa can survive without Kuvosa granted it has other plants to leech off of. Usually its needs are so great though it will completely drain all other plants in the area. Only Kuvosa is a match that is an equal exchange enough not to kill.

Kuvosa look similar to bluebells, except only two twin flowers are produced at a time, and they share a stem so as to look like a hammerhead shark. There are three white spikes inside the plant that are very sharp. They attach to a single stem with long thick roots that are often so thickly entwined with Ruvosa that is almost impossible to separate them without completely destroying the plant. Uses:

Kuvosa is actually poisonous throughout the entire plant. Ironically it causes the lungs to fill with fluid and collapse. Death is immediate, within seconds. It is maybe one of the deadliest plants out there. However, it is incredibly useful for other uses. However it is called the “Breath of Life” because of its amazing ability to produce ridiculous amounts of oxygen. This is its one and only purpose, as even making dyes out of it is extremely toxic. The plant should never be touched with bare hands because it has a powder coating that is corrosive to anything but the Ruvosa plant. Thus you will often find bald patches of earth surrounding the plant. It can grow alone or in bunches with other members of its species, as Kuvosa do not harm each other and mate with others of its kind. Thus it is used to produce oxygen. For the space station. For space ships. For oxygen tanks and suits. It is incredibly effective. 📷

VOS LICHEN

Vos is a type of fungi/lichen that live INSIDE of certain types of trees. It is white and flaky with black speckles like the inside of a dragonfruit. The texture is dry and flexible like lichen. It has very little water and needs very little to survive. It makes its home within the layers of the wood, never outside of it. It actually tends to “burn” from being exposed to oxygen. It will turn black and crumble. Sometimes it will even catch fire if there is any form of heat. This is somewhat exciting to put it into salads and watch it burn, as it burns quickly and doesn’t spread. It is a fun activity to do at parties to awe guests and friends.

Uses: Vos is a mediocre plant that isn’t good for much aside from looking pretty. It is not poisonous but the taste is rather bland and lifeless. Sometimes people add it to their salads, but it’s more so for decoration than for any nutritional value. It is very chewy but instantly turns to a disgusting mush when added to soup. Sometimes people like to make what they call “Vos butter.” Where they use it as a filler while loading it with so many other spices it covers up the original bland flavour.

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SUNFLAKE

Sunflakes are usually warm-coloured flowers. There are many per stalk and they kind of represent butter and eggs. However they come deeper hues of orange with light yellows and sometimes even striking blues inside that branch out into spidery webs like lightning.

Sunflakes like heat and heavy atmospheric pressure. They originate on hot heavy dense planets and enjoy a lot more radiation than most plants. They have 6 prongs and kind of represent snowflakes. The plants possess both male and female parts, with male flowers being smaller than the female ones and more rounded, less forked.

Uses: Sunflakes are not for eating. Although very pretty flowers they should also not be kept in most people’s houses. They tend to emit radioactive gasses and should be kept far apart from other plants that do not come from the same planet as them.

Throw them into the fire and they emit tons more energy, almost like some kind of chemical reaction or a nuclear reactor. They are primarily used to power things that take lots of energy. Due to their radioactive material they should NOT be eaten or used as dyes. If digested, a cancer diagnosis isn’t far away.

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FREEBORN ITALICAN

Freeborns are very safe for humans on any level. So far there has been no negative side effects for any of their uses and it is hard to consume or use too much to cause issues. They have a wide range of uses, everything from dyes, as they come in all sorts of colours, to paint, to eating in all sorts of foods. Technically Freeborns tend to take on the flavour of anything they are put with, though if eaten on their own they have a spongy texture and a mild mushroom-like flavour with a tinge of honey. They grow as upside down mushrooms and are part of the mushroom family. They produce budding little balls on top of them that are actually flowers. You can eat the flowers too, they are very chewy, but mostly tasteless, like tapioca. Freeborns are technically a type of starch and can also be made into breads and pastries.

Freeborn italican are pretty easy going and can grow in almost any environment. They intake a lot of water and grow well in shallow soil. However, they are extremely susceptible to plague as they contain many similar genes to each other, and must be spaced out enough to be considered safe from catching anything. 📷

BITTERROOT SAFEA Bitterroot is a starchy root vegetable. When raw it is extremely bitter and can cause allergic reactions such as hives, swollen tongue/throat, and red flecked eyes. Even small bits of it is toxic to humans. Reactions range from mild to severe. When cooked with vinegar it is safe upon consumption. Most of its harsh flavours are cooked out of it and its left with a sweet undertone (because of the starch) with a very mild bitter aftertaste similar to that of cooked spinach after the vinegar is removed. The root itself has many uses, aside from forming the staple for a lot of diets because of its versatility, it has a lot of medical possibilities. The zest of the root is used to make bitterroot vinegar, which has many many health benefits. It restores hair, skin, and is very good for bones and libido. It has a multitude of other uses, but it is still undergoing lots more testing. 📷 BLACKBLOOD NERVOSA The blackblood plant ranges from dark purple to black and is mainly a leafy plant. Rarely it produces berries, they are small hard and black, and are impossible to chew. They are not considered edible, though they will do no harm if swallowed accidentally. Most stomachs cannot digest them anyway so they just pass through. Blackblood plants are found deep in the rainforest, and detest direct sunlight. They actually thrive on the silvery rays of the moon, a form of very indirect sunlight. They thrive deep in the woods where it's always shadowed and shaded, and bloom little white flowers under moonlight or fluorescent light. This plant is rich in iron and protein and has a meaty,  bloody flavour. It is the perfect plant for vegetarians, and they use it in many meat dishes. Raw it is very bitter, but the juice is used in medicine, especially as blood thinners and for clearing toxins and cholesterol for the heart. It is very good for the heart, lots of people eat it and it's a health fad to consume it as part of a "heart and vein cleansing." However pregnant woman should never consume blackblood nervosa, as it is known to cause stillbirths. 📷 HASKRA BYFLUTE (Eyeball fruit) Haskra are a genius of plants that grow on long stalks. They are very tall and are climbers. They usually weave around trees and produce round fruits the size of golf balls. The stalks and leaves are rubbery and tough, but the fruit's texture is similar to that of a grape. They are white in appearance with blue rings, hence their more well-known name: eyeball fruit. The taste is similar to a grapefruit mixed with a kiwi. Tart but quite sweet upon ripeness. The outer shell needs to be cracked like an egg and peeled off to reveal the fleshy pulp underneath. The fruit is high in vitamin Vitamin C, Potassium, and Calcium and is good for aching joints and weak bones. It is also very good for eyes and skin health. It is mainly used as a food source. One plant can produce up to 100 bunches of eyeball fruit, they are huge plants to keep and quite common, thus actually being quite cheap.

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SPINY CIMMERIAN PLANT

Spiny Cimmerian is a spiky plant in the fern family. It is very sharp and likes wet peaty soil. The tips are curly, ending in a sharp, hard precipice. They are usually dry and hard, but lots of people like to keep it in their houses because of its unique beauty. This plant actually doesn’t have any purposes and is not edible, though it won’t hurt you if you eat it, it’s very dry and has an undesirable, hard to digest texture. However it has a pleasant smell similar to black cherry and black currants mixed with sandalwood, and thus it is a popular houseplant as it grows well in shaded places. Most people buy it for the pleasant smell.

GLASS PREYING MANTIS SUCCULENTS Preying Mantis was named after the earth animal. They were little translucent flowers with bright yellow pollen. They are shaped like praying mantis’s, and are quite small, about an inch in size each. They grow in clusters in low spiky cactus-like vines. The leaves are shaped like balloons and are full of water inside. They are very crisp, with a bitter aftertaste. The flowers are delicate and can be torn easily. If you look closely you can see through them to the other side and all the little peach veins flowing through them. Uses: Mainly used for decoration and are low maintenance, they also carry a lot of water and can be safely eaten in the wild, a great source of hydration for animals in the area. They can also grow in almost any climate, granted that the ground isn’t soggy and wet. They add a unique flavour to juices and are high in energy, thus lots of energy drinks use them.

FALAFULOO (The Jellyfish Plant)

A blue bioluminescent plant growing on the marsh planet. When plants are ripe and going into seed, the blooms, which look like jellyfish, are released from the plant and float into the air and catch on wind drifts. Wherever they drift and latch a new plant will grow.

Uses: Falafuloo is often used to make gelatin, jello, jellies, and also used as a thickener. Generally the plant is bland and tasteless and thus it is a great staple for thickening other dishes.

It’s iridescent glow is also used to light dark places, as the plants automatically glow when it gets dark and they have a very bright radius. Also used as decoration with streetlights. They grow well in most conditions, and are harvested right before going into seeding, as they get quite large (about the size of a sombrero fully grown) and to prevent them from spreading like weeds.

BLOODY MARY AGRASJU

Agrasju is a very ugly plant. It looks like an open wound with droplets of blood sticking out of it. However it is similar to a pomegranate and the red droplets can be eaten. They are very staining and can be used to make dyes and paint. They also make an excellent wine and contain many antitoxins. They have a mildly intoxicating effect when eaten in great amounts, and can get one drunk. However it is near impossible to just get drunk off of the fruit itself, as a lot of it must be eaten to have the same effect. It is only in concentrated juices can it be drunk like a wine.

GREEN GUGLA (THE SCREAMING ROSE)

Though not actually a rose, the screaming rose does have many snaggletooth curls and layers enfolding in on its each other. When these curls are unraveled, it makes a terrifying screaming sound that scares off predators and protects the plant from consumption. It’s a moss green flower. Typically there is one large flower and lots of little ones budding around it. They all scream but all add different pitches of screams. The plant itself isn’t actually screaming, as it doesn’t have a voice. The plant is actually full of air and it releases the air when its furls are unraveled or moved, even by accident. Similar to boiling a lobster alive.

Uses: People like to use the screaming rose to prank each other, but it has other uses aside from entertainment.

The air released from the plant is actually helium, and is very useful at making things float. Since just one plant can fill a milk jug, it lowers the price of helium and makes it more affordable for ordinary people to possess.

ROCKDAE

Rockdae are not technically plants, they are large single celled organisms that live inside of black rocks. It is still a mystery as to how they got in there. The inside is bright blood red and it almost looks like a bloody mass when you cut them open. They have a sour and strong flavour, gelatin-like in texture. These organisms do not contain nerves, but they do react to touch. They are very malleable and can crawl out of rocks like slime. They seek dark cold places. They have temporary protective from radiation and UV from sunlight and the elements of space since they come from a planet with no atmosphere, however in order to survive long term they must dig themselves into their rocks to survive, which protects them more from the elements. Rockdae keep themselves warm by converting energy into heat from the minerals they devour from the rocks which they live inside of. There are many kinds of Rockdae, the vast majority of them being harmless, but for reasons still unknown to scientists, there are a couple of species that are actually quite poisonous with stinging tendrils, similar to jellyfish. Thus they have earned the nickname “Land Jellies.”

Uses: Mainly food. Pretty good for canning and pickling and last a long time without going bad. They are pretty resistant to germs because of their protective jelly-flesh that keeps out radiation as well as lots of other things. They also make an interesting snack when you dry them and then bake them. They become crunchy like popcorn. Can also use them as dyes as they have the most vibrant red. It’s the yellow ones that are poisonous.

DRAGONFISH Dragonfish are neither dragons, nor fish. They are actually related to otters. They are only about 1/3rd of the size of their distant otter cousins though. They are usually white, possessing both fur and scales. They have a cat-like face, long whiskers like a catfish, sharp pointy teeth, and iridescent silver scales. They are quite fat, possessing no tails, but very long flat feet that are similar to duck feet. They have double joints, meaning the foot can bend backwards and forwards which makes them all the more agile in the water. They kind of hop similar to kangaroos or rabbits when on shore. They spend most of their time in the water though, living in the warm hotspring-like waters of the Ice Planet though. Their feet act as snowshoes in the snow and they are very light, able to balance on ice without cracking it. They prey on the freshwater seafood that live within the Ice planet waters, as well as seaweed type of plants. They are labeled as semi-dangerous. They are naturally territorial, and they have a space bubble. If that bubble is infringed upon their may lunge and bite. Their teeth are very sharp and can cause significant damage, even though the creature itself is no bigger than a muskrat.

Uses: Their meat is full of fat, and the fat is an excellent lubricant for machinery. The fur is also prized for being water resistant and slippery smooth. The scales can be ground into a powder for medicinal purposes. It is good at healing wounds faster than the normal rate they would heal, and can be used to make a thick slimy material that keeps the cold out.

Generally the meat is very fatty and not always the most desirable for eating purposes. Because the parts that aren’t fatty are very chewy. They also have a very strong fishy flavour with a hint of mud.

WHIZZLES

Whizzles are fox-like creatures. BUT they are marsupials, not canines. They are one of the more intelligent species, slightly smarter than a dog. They kill large bug beasts and create armour out of their shells, wearing them on their back and sometimes their head for protection. They use sticks they sharpened with their teeth to hunt and are predators. They eat the bugs they kill and use their parts for almost everything.

They live in honeycomb caves. Their fur is short and course like that of a dingo. They have large ears that help keep them cool in the hot stuffy planet in which they live. Whizzles are also big on fishing and they slink and hunt in a fashion that is similar to cats. They are both solitary hunters as well as pack members, depending on what kind of prey they are taking down. Larger prey may require a whole trio of them.

Whizzles come out during the early morning and the evening hours, avoiding the most humid and hot part of the day, especially to avoid maneating birds. They have very good hearing and a sense of smell and long white whiskers that are 1/4th their body length. Sometimes they eat mushrooms to help them digest but they are mainly meat eaters.

Uses: Whizzles do not have uses other than their fur

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FICKERETTES

Fickerettes are canines that have a flap of skin attached to their foreclaws and back. They cannot fly but they do glide from tree to tree. They NEVER leave the trees. They live on the ocean planet where only trees grow out of the ocean. They have never seen land. They live within the pools at the top of the trees, the only fresh water around and drink mainly nectar. The sharp teeth are for fighting over females, as only males have them, and also for getting a good grip when climbing trees. They have very sharp claws and a flap of skin behind their ears that can flare up in warning. They have sharp spines along their back that are quite sharp.

Uses: The orbs growing along the spines and feathers of a fickerette have medicinal properties. Though not edible by way of flavour, once diluted with other herbs they are good at sucking out the poison inflicted by other creatures, as they are very soft and absorbent. They are also excellent at sucking up water and acting like a sponge. Unfortunately they help regulate a fickerette’s water intake and hydration and if removed can seriously harm the animal or even cause it death. Thus they are quite rare and are extremely expensive. 📷 📷 📷

GYPSLIS

Gypslis are tiny dragons without wings that serve a “queen bee” if you will. She is far more intelligent than her workers and they work like ants. They only come out at night in the bioluminescent forest and react by way of pheromones the queen bee releases. They are mainly vegetarians, eating many kinds of different plants the rainforest has to offer, but they have also been known to eat meat when looking for protein sources, and will sometimes even attack other colonies of their kind to get it. The queen is much bigger than her subjects and she is also bioluminescent. She is also more intelligent and aggressive and dangerous. She has poison within her fangs that normal gypslis do not have. Only the queen has wings, though they are mainly for display and actually aren’t all that good at flying. Though she can fly short distances.

Uses: No uses other than being great pets. They do everything you tell them and are very lost without someone to tell them what to do. They are also very good trackers and generally harmless without their queen to rule them. 📷