Tumbleplant
The Tumbleplant is a locomotive meat plant organism native to the Illuminatian continent. The Tumbleplant descended in part from the Earth-native tumbleweed. Much like its Earthly predecessor, the Tumbleplant engages in subtle rolling or tumbling movements in order to traverse the flat terrain typical of its Illuminatian habitat.
Typical Tumbleplant behavior involves using minimal-effort tumbling motions aided by prevailing winds to seek out and congregate in areas that are shaded of sunlight. This can sometimes make assemblies of Tumbleplants difficult to see, leading to transportation hazards along transportation corridors. Efforts are made to ensure roads and train right-of-way are not excessively shaded where they traverse Tumbleplant habitat.
Tumbleplants detach from their root systems relatively early in the lifecycle of the plant, spending the majority of the organism's life in an ambulatory state. The numerous spines of the plant incorporate thin, relatively weak muscular tissue which allows the plant to make slight movements on its own. External force, however, is necessary for the Tumbleplant to be able to roll itself and move any substantial distance. Tumbleplants are unable to walk on their own.
Tumbleplants have little nutritional value because of the plant's minuscule quantity of meat. The remainder of the organism's makeup is dominated by cellulosic material.
Tumbleweed background
The Earthly tumbleweed was not an intended component of the Illuminatia flora seeding strategy proposed by plans for inhabiting and settling the Neonisi planet. Lucidus mission planners did not intend the tumbleweed to be included as part of an ecosystem on the new world which Lucidus personnel planned to inhabit. But nonetheless the tumbleweed was among the plant life held aboard the Lucidus spacecraft, leading to the inadvertent seeding of selected regions of the surface of Neonisi with the organism.
The tumbleweed was unintentionally carried to the surface of Neonisi aboard Lucidus spacecraft modules containing habitation and lifestyle units of the Lucidus II spacecraft, following the Lucidus termination event. It is understood a small number of the ancestor plants were kept as props for use as decoration inside a western-themed café aboard the Lucidus II public lifestyle and entertainment district module. However, amid the confusion during the Lucius evacuation event, some of the tumbleweed organisms inexplicably managed to make it to the surface of Neonisi and become entangled in the flora package destined for transport to the newly-settled planet.
Typical tumbleplant behavior involves using minimal-effort tumbling motions aided by the wind to seek out and congregate within the vicinity of radiant heat.