Dragontooth Plant
A strange and deadly plant that grows over hollows and bark crevices, the dragontooth plant is a danger to travelers and anyone who finds themself off the worn trails. The foliage of this plant is quite striking when unfolded, but it most known for its unusual hunting habits. Extracting heavy metals from the tree, this plant forms them into drops and excretes them into a pile. Though the plant itself stays mostly in dim light, the piles of precious metal are always positioned to catch direct light. When a sufficiently glinting pile has been set, the dragontooth plant reaches out tendrils and leaves drops of the metal in a line as far as its tendrils can extend. This strange behavior creates a trail of metal dollops that look suspiciously like coins, leading directly to the plant's lair.
When an unwary wanderer finds the trail, they collect the coins leading to the false hoard. The plant pulls deeper into the shadows of the crevice as the person approaches. As the victim goes to claim this great bounty, the dragontooth plant unfurls and strikes. The long leaves open, revealing a vibrant pattern of yellow, red, and violet. As the prey is distracted by the colors, they miss the hardened spines around the edges of each leaf, making the the bloom more like a giant maw rimmed with teeth. Leaves slam together, snapping into the person and preventing escape. From there, the dragontooth plant can pull its prey into a digestive pit between the colorful maw, where powerful acids break down the body, bones and all. If the traveler carried any coins of their own, they are eventually used to repair the alluring trail, and the plant's trap resets.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
Dragontooth plants seek out dimly lit places near pits, hollows, or bark crevices and canyons. They also need large quantities of water, but this can be supplemented as the plant roots into the phloem of Arboreus to pull out trace metals. This leads them to haunt dank areas near vertical rivulets and streams, where sunlight reaches, but not strongly enough to burn the plant's leaves. They also make use of horizontal pits an gaps, forming nets of green tendrils that can be pulled away when prey tries to move across this false bridge.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
With an exceptional sense for metal concentrations, dragontooth plants use their roots to seek out advantageous trap points. Their can also sense vibrations with pinpoint accuracy in their lairs, which they can use to target prey as long as their roots are touching a surface nearby.
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