It occurred to me recently that – despite the fact that I am surrounded by them, mention them constantly in my other notes and the outsized role they play in the Somnian ecosystem – I have never properly organized my notes and observations about the monumental plants I call the Trees of Life. Accordingly, I have spent the past few days organizing my thoughts to rectify that oversight.
The Trees of Life: Backbone of Somnius
When I and my former crewmates first arrived on Somnius, we very quickly dubbed the towering, cypress-like plants that cover the surface “Trees of Life.” I do not recall now who first used the term. I want to say it was Dr. Bascomb, but I am not completely certain. The name stuck, however. It’s easy to see why. The trees completely cover the surface of Somnius except where the few mountain peaks over-top them. All life on Somnius interacts with the Trees in some way or another. They define local ecosystemic barriers and provide the major anchor for evolutionary development on the moon. They truly are the focal point of life on this world.
As stated, Trees of Life loosely resemble the cypress trees of Earth, specifically the Bald Cypress that can be found in the coastal regions of the North American continent, especially the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico. The resemblance can mostly be found near the waterline, where the Trees have a swelling to their lower trunk. Beyond that, the similarity fades. The “bark” of the Trees of Life is leathery and rugose quite unlike the bark of earth trees. From the surface, the main trunk of a Tree soars upwards, climbing hundreds of feet before branching.
Dimensions
A typical Tree is anywhere from 1-4 meters across at the waterline. As it climbs it tapers until it is perhaps half its base width. From there it climbs to an as-yet undiscovered height. A lack of proper climbing gear, and if I am honest, no small amount of fear, has prevented me from climbing into the canopy thus far to make direct observations or take measurements. The initial surveys from the Cabot were sadly lost when it was destroyed and therefore I can only rely on my memory for the area above the surface It should be noted that climbing into the canopy would be an enormous undertaking. Attempts to scale one of the mountains and reach the canopy that way have thus far been unsuccessful.
Evolutionary Notes
In order to harvest sunlight in this light-poor ecosystem, Trees of Life evolved to grow to this enormous height, totally beggaring the tallest tree on Earth. By growing tall they are able to harvest light at a high altitude, losing less light to the thick Somnian atmosphere. They also facilitate this by growing a very thick and wide canopy of huge plate-like structures literally hundreds of feet across, as observed during the Cabot’s original approaches. The canopy covers most of the surface of the moon, casting it into almost permanent shadow. Only at the tops of the two mountain ranges or over the few shallow seas is the canopy absent, and even there the canopy hangs well over the borders of those realms.
The flesh of a Tree of Life is very hard and does not burn easily. It has a tensile strength greater than steel, and is also extremely dense. The Trees can co-exist with other flora, such as the torchplants, that can cause fires to break out due to their chemical compositions. The Trees almost never burn, even when one of the rare thunderstorms turns into a firestorm.
Supported Biozones
The Trees of Life support 3 distinct biozones on Somnius, although one of those zones is currently somewhat theoretical.
The Canopy
As previously mentioned, the Trees grow a large canopy of overlapping plate-like structures in place of the leaves sported by trees on Earth. The plates spread outward and create surfaces sufficiently large to house life. At present my only observation of life in the canopy is in the form of cries heard drifting down from above. It is possible these sounds are echoes of sounds generated at the surface, but given the proliferation and tenacity of life on Somnius it seems unlike that such a large area would be left fallow.
The Surface
On the surface, the Trees of Life are a focal point of life in multiple ways. Firstly, they provide a central hub or rallying point, if you will, for life to congregate. Lantern Gourds grow from the bases of the trees. Torchplants grow from the mud raised by the Trees’ roots pushing up the soil. The glowlies come in to trap the insectoids feeding on the lantern gourd pollen. Sconce mushrooms grow on the trunks of the trees. The list goes on. Almost all life on the surface revolves around the Trees.
The reason for this is simple; the Trees are the primary conduit of energy for the surface. The Tree canopy absorbs light from the local star and transfers it to the surface through the trunk. The trees, in effect, act a bit like volcanic vents in the deep oceans of earth. The base of each tree is a wellspring of energy that other life forms gather round to feed upon.
The Underground
A single Tree of Life is actually made of several trunks which are joined below the surface of the swamp. At lower altitudes, the trees grow an internal hollow that reaches down to their root system and creates a natural tunnel system among the trees various trunks. The root system of any given Tree often joins with the roots system of a neighboring TOL, creating huge tunnel systems. This has lead me to speculate that the Trees may actually be all one super-organism. These tunnels can be quite large in diameter, more than sufficient for an adult human to walk upright, although I have ventured only a short way into the tunnel system thus far. My observations have shown a large variety of fungi-like organisms in the tunnels, and I am therefore extremely cautious about venturing down there. Given what the Astero Fungus can do to a human, I would be foolish to go charging in.
In addition to various fungi and flora in the tunnels, I have witnessed a number of small fauna inside the tunnels, and have observed them entering the tunnel system in one place and then been fairly certain I saw the same animal emerge from among the roots of a different Tree cluster entirely. These included the torchbiters, various insectoid species, and in a recent observation, the tunnel system is where the flickerbats spend their nights.
Conclusion
For now, that constitutes the sum of my findings on the Trees. I will update this record in the future as I understand more.