Jack Sandrow
Writer, Character, Invasive Species
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To add to the prehistory of Rakatan terraforming during the age of the Infinite Empire
- Image Credit: 'Yggdrasil' by JJcanvas on DeviantArt
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Partially based on the wroshyr tree on Kashyyyk
- Name: Unknown scientific name, common names are 'worldshaker', 'stick-on-me', 'big-ass weed', etc.
- Origins: Unknown (theorized to be part of Rakatan terraforming processes during the age of the Infinite Empire)
- Other Locations: Kashyyyk, Yavin 4, Endor, unknown (widespread but rare)
- Classification: Flowering tree
- Average Growth Cycle: 10-20 years to root, 50-100 years to grow to full mature size, can live for another 900+ years without outside influence (1000+ years total)
- Viability: Requires frequent sunlight, a widespread footprint, nutrient sources, symbiotic relationships with local flora & fauna, and a significant dispersion from its source tree
- Description: Smaller than wroshyr trees, the Worldshaker tree takes longer to root in place, but shorter to grow to its full height. Broad limbs and a broad & deep root system keeps it securely in place even in extremely violent weather. Various nooks and crannies provide shelter for symbiotic relationships with flora and fauna, and the tree itself may host hundreds or even thousands of distinct and varied species living in its branches, roots, and trunk. Its distinctive gallseeds are relatively rare, but unmistakable.
- Average Height: 200-500 m (fully grown)
- Average Length: 100-200 m wide trunk (at the base), 800 m wide canopy
- Color: Varies depending on climate and planet, but commonly has green-yellow leaves and brown-gray bark.
- Nutritional Value: None
- Toxicity: None
- Other Effects: Worldshaker wood is tough and slightly flexible, making it useful for simple construction. The gallseeds are sticky and their sap can be used as a 'patchjob' for starship hulls (see Historical Information).
- Distinctions: Smaller and thinner than wroshyr trees, the worldshaker trees are still unmistakably massive, designed to be a safe haven and sturdy anchor for a variety of smaller species in an environment.
- Strong and sturdy construction allows for maximum survivability in just about any Type I or Type II atmospheres
- Rakatan-designed bioengineering had allowed for interplanetary spread, designed specifically for starship and hyperspace travel
- Designed with symbiotic relationships in mind, the Worldshaker tree is meant to host a wide variety of species in its branches, root system, trunk, etc.
- A very long germination period and very infrequent seeding makes it a long process to regrow naturally
- With little in the way of defense other than size or strength, its long growth period means it will be vulnerable for decades
One of many Rakatan bioengineering marvels, the 'Worldshaker' tree became part of prehistory in the twilight of the Infinite Empire. Rare enough to be notable to scholars but unoppressive so as to be by-and-large ignored by the general public, the Worldshaker trees are few and far between, but just populated enough to be more or less self-sustaining. Each planet capable of sustaining these trees may have only 10,000 specimens on the entire planet, concentrated almost entirely in one continent, usually in a semi-rural environment. The broad trunks with even broader branches make a distinct dome-on-pyramid shape. The sheer size of the trunk makes it basically impossible to cut down once fully grown, but harvesting is still possible by 'peeling' a section of bark & cambium back, cutting out a chunk of sapwood, and placing the bark back. This allows for the tree to provide wood suitable for construction even while still alive. Sustainable farming in this way allows a tree to be harvested potentially for the extent of the tree's lifespan. The wood is tough but flexible, and ideal for furniture, housing, framing, or decoration.
The lifecycle of the tree starts with its seeds, each encased in a gall-like shell which is itself coated in a sticky sap. The gallseed tumbles off the branches, bouncing off the trunk to roll away into the underbrush. Each gallseed is the size of a humanoid head, and will find itself attaching to any passing animal or vehicle. Each gallseed instinctively seeks to move away from its parent, to spread out and away, though most are unable to travel more than perhaps half a kilometer. The lucky few gallseeds that do attach to vehicles or ships are able to stick firmly to the outside with their glue-like sap coating. The coating hardens in a vacuum, allowing the gallseeds to travel from world to world without damage. Each world the attached-to ship lands on provides the gallseed with information - heat, humidity, possible climate, airborne nutrients, etc.. While the head-sized gallseed absorbs information, it grows, the nutrient packet within increasing in viability and potential. Once the seed reaches the size of a GNK droid, it will detach itself, rolling away from the ship to find a suitable nesting place to bed down and root. The seed sap retains its stickiness in-atmosphere, but each seed is easily detached by exterior forces i.e. a prybar or vibroshiv. The sap was historically used as a 'quick fix' patch for sealing punctures in a ship's exterior hull, though modern technology and repairing solutions has made this obsolete.
When the tree reaches the end of its lifespan, any remaining gallseeds still attached fall off, landing right at the base of the now-dying tree. They will compete for nutrients as the decaying older trunk collapses in on itself, though only one tree will end up surviving long enough to reach maturity. The rotting trunk of the dead tree provides nutrients and a safe haven for fungi and other decomposing agents.
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