All Questions
138
questions
8
votes
2
answers
165
views
What environment could lead to adipose-rich plants, and what would they look like?
I need a plant that acts as a very relatively effective, portable source of stored chemical energy. I figure the best way to do this is to have a plant/plant-like organism that stores its unused ...
- 81
7
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Labour-Intensive staple crop
I am trying to design a staple crop (preferably grain or tuber, but can be anything if necessary) that is very productive, capable of sustaining great population densities, but is also very labour ...
- 1,349
7
votes
3
answers
809
views
Circular tree: possible?
In the never ending quest to get elves to live in trees, I am taking things one step further and attempting to get the entire city in a tree. Magic is not in the equation. The tree would start out ...
7
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Could a human-plant hybrid exist?
Is it theoretically possible to genetically alter humans so that they could live off solar energy like plants? What biological and physiological changes would have to be made?
- 20.2k
7
votes
1
answer
858
views
What would be the most likely colour of leaves on plants on a planet orbiting a red dwarf?
Imagine a red dwarf star orbited by a considerably Earth-sized planet in the star's habitable zone. Assuming the planet has a sufficiently powerful magnetic field to protect its surface from the star'...
- 2,000
7
votes
2
answers
722
views
The Boreal Bamboo Forest
This is the classic winter picture of a boreal forest, or taiga. This habitat exists only on subpolar latitudes, where the climate is too extreme for broad-leaved angiosperms to take root, thus ...
- 14.6k
7
votes
4
answers
409
views
What types of flora would flourish on a tidally-locked moon?
My world is a satellite of a gas giant. It has an atmosphere and is mostly covered by water (the percentage of water to its surface is somewhere in the high 80s-low 90s). Its rotation period is 28 ...
7
votes
1
answer
808
views
What's a good subterranean vegetation - other than bio-luminescent fungi?
So, I've made... a lot of subterranean worlds. It's a favorite of mine. And, every single time, the major form of vegetation and light was blue, glowing mushrooms, and glowing crystals. While I think ...
- 695
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What would a silicone-based plant, especially a tree, look like?
This question's information is based on the answer in my previous question about what the aquatic creature need in order to live or survive in my acid water?
The thing that's not in the description ...
- 8,897
6
votes
6
answers
3k
views
What could cause trees to grow large, hollow bulges about halfway up their trunks?
I'd like to have a forest with trees that are "normal" except that as they grow a big, hollow bulge forms in their trunks about halfway up, giving them a shape something like this, with a relatively ...
- 1,269
6
votes
6
answers
811
views
How realistic are ice plants?
How realistic is it that in the future someone invents plants that can live on top of the Antarctic ice sheet or are floating on ice like in the Arctic?
- 5,360
6
votes
3
answers
842
views
What are some alternatives to tannin in plant bark?
When creating the plant life on alien planets, photosynthetic pigments other than chlorophyll can be the predominant molecule to create foliage of colours other than green, as we see on earth but for ...
user96146
6
votes
5
answers
826
views
How can I achieve 1.5 mile (or even 300 foot) wide tree branches?
In my fantasy story, elves live high up in giant trees (or at least something similar to a tree). These trees are so massive, that entire cities can be built on their branches. The branches have ...
6
votes
5
answers
645
views
Magic that Alters Living Cells - Windows in Trees?
This question deals with the magic explained in this question. It is also explained below.
In my fantasy novel, magic is a natural part of the world. It is not some mystical force shrouded in mystery,...
6
votes
3
answers
418
views
Is this a viable/realistic imaginary species?
I am creating a species for my alien world that will be seen as 'holy' by the planets dominant religion. I'd like to know if my 'holy' species could viably exist biologically/evolutionarily.
Assume ...
- 580