Flora on the vreem home world is more closely related to fauna, as the two share the same phyla. This is because, the origins of multicellular photosynthesis is fundamentally different than earth's.
Unlike on earth where eukaryotic photosynthesis evolved via symbiosis with cyanobacteria this process never occurred on their home world. Instead their version of photosynthesis developed later as a type of membrane bound protein structure in the earliest ancestor of both their flora and fauna phyla. As a result the flora across the vreem home world is more closely related to their animal life than those on earth.
Here's a collection of different flora-fauna your might come across on the vreem home world. Most flora use a red photosynthetic pigment in their foliage, but other pigments such blue-green and even gold are also found across the world and are typically more common among aquatic species. Each species is listed with an earthling name along side its Onomatopoeia derived from Khllk, a commonly spoken vreem language.
Singing Suitors "Hornfoots"
Evolved from a worm like ancestor, their leaves are modified gills filled with the red photo-sensitive pigment used in their process of photosynthesis. They get their name in khllk due to the rattle like "seed pots" which when blown in the wind produces a sound similar to a "Vreem" chirp. They are colloquially called hornfoots by humans, as their root structures are made of heavily ossified tissue baring a resemblance to horns. Water is drawn from the soil through capillary action similar to trees on earth. Hornfoots are a relatively primitive group of floral type fauna as they retain a central cavity, mouth, and two simple compound eyes. They protect their fills by pulling them inwards into their central cavity.
Sticky Vines
Predatory flora are common across their homeworld. Sticky Vines, typically hang from the stocks / branches of other flora and use their two sticky oral arms to snag flying pray. While their too small to be considered a threat to the vreem, their oral arms are difficult to spot in the red jungles they grow in, and as a result they often present a collision hazard below the canopy
Barnacle Snakes
Are a related species to sticky vines, whoever they retain more of their ancestral form. They typically grow rooted to a larger structure, a rock face or another large flora species. They share a similar gill structure like hornfoots, but theirs are sticky. They're predominately air filter feeders, surviving mostly on spores and small bugs. Unlike hornfoots they have a complete gut.
Land Corals
Red Cups, Anemone Grass and Blood Leafs are three flora species which are from colonial clade. They individual flora which are comprised of smaller specialized clones which function together as a single organisms. This tends to give them a more "plant-like" appearance, similar to other colonial animals like corals on earth.
Pneumopods
This group of animals tend to occupy the "insect / bug" niches like those of arthropods of earth They're very small organisms no larger than a human fingernail. However their biology share more in common with echinoderms (starfish / sea urchins) than insects. They have an endoskeleton comprised of plates as a row of tube feet for locomotion. These two have photosynthetic spiney membranes. The species on the right are gliders and feeds on the hemolymph of other flora.
They're very warm inside, they like the wind a lot!
When trees fall, if there's a percentage of roots still in the ground, they're not dead, they can keep living. If in theory we had one giant human who just went around picking trees up and burying them back down, they would all recover and be fine. I was going to put that in my story when I wrote a continuation of Thornwood! I just think it would be very cool.
Some trees still go on living even when fallen down, they just adapt so their branches become the new trunk and they grow up form there.
The reason trees lose their leaves in the fall is related to the hours of light we have in the day, more so than the cold. Trees do a little calculation, and when there's less than ideal light in the day, they go 'well, this is not worth keeping leaves', and they let the leaves fall off, because it's not worth the effort for that little amount of light. Then in the spring, when they notice the light hours getting better, they start making new leaves, because now it's worth keeping all that greenery in order to receive nutrients! But trees are definitely not 'dead', or 'sleeping' during the winter, they're very much alive and calculating their next move. If you look at a tree in January or February, you'll be able to see them already forming lots of little buds and preparing to grow flowers, they're very much active! And I imagine they're enjoying how saturated the ground is with water, growing the roots down and taking in all they can.
If anyone can think of more tree knowledge on the spot, add to this post!
anatomy of a tree | jackieshauna | 1.4k words | canon compliant
The very center of a branch is referred to as the pith or the medulla. It is the softest part of the branch and is composed of living cells. Were one to compare a tree to the human body, the heart could be an apt comparison to the pith. After all, the Ancient Greeks believed it to be at the center of the soul. Maybe it'll even taste like one too. But when understood in a more literal sense, the center of the human body could perhaps be viewed more as the stomach. The heart may pump blood around your body, but isn’t the stomach the true heart? Is that not where life forms: bark, roots, guts, fingernails? Perhaps, that is where trees and people differ the most.
Think of it like this, Shauna: are the trees really enough to keep both of you fed?
Personal & collected tips regarding the maintenance of a harmonious relationship with the landvættir (land spirits)
“It is laid down in the first clause of the pagan law of Iceland, introduced about AD 930, that no one may approach the country in ships furnished with gaping heads and yawning snouts, i.e. dragon-heads. If they had them they must remove them before they came in sight of land, for otherwise the landvaættir would take fright.” - Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia (1964)
Quick note: if you follow the norse pagan path, Landdísir, Jötnar/Trolls/Thurses, Álfar, and even ancestors could be considered land spirits, depending on your personal experience and interpretation of historical sources.
“They do not typically speak in English words, or words of any human language. They speak in wind, in the crackle of fire, in images and concepts and intense emotions.” - Earl S. Wynn.
In my experience, when compared to communication with fair folk, land spirit work is usually a lot more one-sided. Despite this, it’s important to keep in mind that spirits are conscious: they are individuals just like you and I, so we should treat them with love and respect, exactly in the way we would want to be treated. When it comes to landvættir, don’t expect a great deal of active communication, but rather watch out for little casual blessings that may start popping up once you start building a relationship with the land. By “land”, I mean both the land and the spirits that inhabit it, as they make a whole and are sustained by one another. The land you will work with is the area that you live in. Yes, even if it is a large city. Cities were all built upon age-old land, and this fact can be observed even in the most bustling and crowded ones. Is there a park you used to visit as a kid? Or a line of trees near your house? Small as they may seem, these places are the type to be inhabited by landvættir. Now, how do you start working with them?
“King Harald told a warlock to hie to Iceland in some altered shape, and to try what he could learn there to tell him: and he set out in the shape of a whale. And when he came near to the land he went to the west side of Iceland, north around the land, where he saw all the mountains and hills full of guardian-spirits, some great, some small.” - Heimskringla: The Chronicle of The Kings of Norway, “King Olaf Trygvason's Saga”, chapter 6.
The first step to landvættir work is actually excessively simple. It is to acknowledge the soul within natural elements. Look around yourself, when in nature, and notice which trees, stones, boulders or plants catch your eye.
The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids suggests to take note of the following landmarks in order to get to know your own area: the highest place, the nearest body of water, the nearest area of natural beauty, the busiest open space where people congregate on a daily basis, the most abused or neglected site, the oldest sacred site under continuous use, the nearest place where the dead are commemorated or buried, the nearest natural food-producing ground, the place most frequented by wild (non-domestic) animals, the nearest major crossroads, and other significant sites that occur to you or that may be particular to your location e.g. marsh-land, heavy industry sites, etc.
If there is a certain spot you feel most drawn to, why note make it into a sort of land altar? By land altar, I mean a place where you can regularly go to rest and commune with nature. It isn’t necessary to set up a whole altar, and I would even advise against adorning it with excessive decorations, especially unnatural ones. As much as possible, try to avoid wrappings and plastics! However, you can mark the spot with things you pick up in the area: a pretty flower or leaf, a fallen tree branch, a handful of acorns, an usual-looking rock and such. It’s okay to put these on your land altar as long as they are from the area. Picking these sorts of things up and giving them back to nature is a means to show that not only do you observe the gifts of the land you live on, but that you also appreciate them. That you see their beauty and their value. By choosing a specific spot to make such offerings, you also give the landvættir a place where they can reach back to you, where you can hear their voices and feel their touch. If you are interested in working with a tree spirit, or choosing one as you land altar, I suggest taking a look at this previous post of mine where I detailed how to get started with such a relationship!
Disclaimer: if you keep getting a bad feeling about the place you’ve chosen for your land altar, I would definitely advise changing spots. It could mean a particular land spirit does not want to be disturbed, and it would be rude not to respect their wish.
Once you’ve chosen this space and once you feel truly settled with it, it’s a great idea to bless it from time to time. You can do so by blessing water and pouring it around and over that spot, or by singing a certain song, or chanting, etc. Simply naming what you see around you, stating the names of these natural elements, can be considered blessing, for you are acknowledging their souls. Through meditation, you may start hearing some spirits tell you the names they want to be called. Keep them in mind!
I would deem all of these “blessing” gestures offerings, though you could also offer the aforementionned leaves, flowers, rocks, acorns, as well pinecones, collected resin, earth, food you grew in your garden, etc. No matter the shape your offerings take, it is exceedingly important to be regular with them. I don’t mean you need to have a schedule (you could pretty much gift whatever, whenever), but you cannot expect for the spirits to appreciate your presence or give back to you if you have only spent time with them once or twice. Plus, you cannot truly get to know your local spirits if you don’t take the necessary time to get to know them!
Now, I’ve been using a woodland setting as my example, but it’s obvious the landvættir are completey different individuals depending on where you live. They are different in swamps, along beaches, high in the mountains, etc. It is possible to maintain a land altar no matter what your area looks like. After all, the most important part of land spirit work is to acknowledge and live in harmony with your local spirits— the guardians of your land. In fact, I find it a good idea to locate your land altar near a natural symbol of your nation/country/area! In order to do this in an even more personal way, I suggest looking into your ancestral practices! You may notice that previous generations gave back to the land in specific ways, which you could very well include in your own practice.
Once you’ve gone through all of these steps, keep your mind open so as to receive whatever messages or gifts the landvættir want to give in return. They might take a lot of time to answer, but stay patient. After all, their very existence and the protection they grant land is already a gift in an of itself. Sit at your land altar and open your senses. In my experience, landvættir can show their appreciation through a range of very discreet presents such as birdsong, a feeling of absolute peace and joy, a piece of knowledge, or even a new and unexpected flower that catches your eye and which you’ve never seen before. You never know what they might send you next, so best to stay aware of your surroundings when communing with nature. It has lots and lots to give, if you stand ready to receive!
Artworks and pictures: Winter Foxes by Chuck Groenink, Yule Stag by Sebastian McKinnon, painting by Omar Rayyan II, illustration by David Wyatt, land altar photograph, illustration by Lily Seika Jones.
Trees are some of the largest and longest-lived organisms on earth. Senior Gardener Pandora Young shares some of her favorite stories of tre
By Pandora Young, on March 9, 2015
For all of humankind’s existence we have relied on trees for food, medicine, and shelter. Trees are some of the largest and longest lived organisms on earth. So it is no surprise that ancient civilizations attributed great meaning to trees. Longwood Gardens’ own foundation is centered on Peirce’s Arboretum, a historic collection of trees started in the 1800s on the land that was to become the Gardens.
Not too long ago, I began working with an extremely unique tree that I have since become pacted to, and I have finally been given leave to share about it publicly. It's a tree so unusual that it technically bares no common name and, instead, only has a couple of cultivar names and an undecided scientific name. The tree in question is one I have been calling a Rowthorn, since it is a cross between a Rowan Tree (Sorbus Acuparia) and a Hawthorn Tree (Crataegus Monogyna.) The resultant Crataegosorbus (or Sorbocrataegus, depending on your source) is a hybrid developed by Russian horticulturist Ivan Michurin in the 1920s, and can be phenotypically described as a nobbled Rowan tree with berries that look like rosy Haws the size of cherries. Miraculously, these Rowthorn berries are generally considered better for eating and cooking than either Rowan berries or Hawthorn berries are.
This tree is special to me for a couple reasons. On one hand, my grandfather was a botanist who specifically worked creating fruit tree hybrids in his day, which gives me a strange sort of ancestral connection to a tree born through human efforts. On the other hand, both Hawthorns and Rowans are quite historically and personally significant to my practice. Hawthorns possess ancient ties to the Otherworld and its denizens, and can serve to mark "thin places" where the realms are less experientially distinct from one another. As such, the Fae are often said to congregate at the sites of old Whitethorn trees. On the other hand, Rowans are also beloved by the Fae, who are said to enjoy dancing beneath their holy boughs—though, harvested wood from the tree can be utilized in a protective capacity against them as well. This ability of Rowan to both delight and repell the Fae is, in turn, closley aligned with my work as a Faerie Physicker. As such, a tree like the Rowthorn—which embodies the virtues of both these magical plants—is one I couldn't pass up the opportunity to know better, and so I invested in one the instant I was lucky enough to come across it.
Watching it grow from a bare and miniscule scion into a slowly flourishing sapling has been beautiful, and I can hardly wait for the day that it bares its first fruits.
I wanted to chit chat a little bit about a minor but sort of neat aspect of one of my world building projects.
in the world compass to the stars, people have a rather different relationship to the trees.
thing is that the most common kind of magic in the world is plant magic that corrupts the mind.
this means that there are many people in the world who can hear trees speak. because of this trees are well taken care of, and wood harvesting is approached in a different matter.
rarely is the entirety of a tree harvested for use, instead the practice of copping is common. that is harvesting the limbs and branches of the tree. there is an entire team of peoples who's job it is to sooth and heal the tree during the process to ensure the trees comfort. to gain the consent from the tree for what it is used for.
trees are venerated for their age, especially trees tat are over a hundred years in age, they have a similar sort of status to the three fantastic beast (dragons, phoenixes and unicorns) though the trees are seen as a more spiritual connection. in part because the three fantastic beasts are sentient creatures with their own societies.
One of the things that I learned from the Ogham alphabet is to go outside and get to known the trees that are connected to the letters of this medieval Celtic alphabet. Several years ago I made this painting of the first tree in the Ogham, Beithe or birch. Lately I've taken up the journey again, to learn more about the ogham, the lore of the letters, the magic and myth connected to it, and of course the trees that represent the letters and the land they grow in. A natural way for me to connect with something is to make a drawing or painting of it - as I did with Beithe. This year and the next I am planning to complete this series.
