Flora of Pandora

 

Plant life on Pandora is strange and even fantastic. Yet some plants on Pandora bear a striking resemblance to plants on Earth. The diversity of plant life and its range and its size and complexity suggest that, as on Earth, the environment on Pandora acts as a strong force for natural selection. The environmental factors that plants experience on Earth - radiation, water, atmospheric gases, and gravity - are present on Pandora, as well, although their characteristics differ profoundly, as the resulting plant life shows. The atmosphere on Pandora is thicker than on Earth, with higher concentration of carbon dioxide as well as elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide and xenon. Gravity is weaker, while the satellite's magnetic field is incredibly strong. All of these factors have determined the evolution of plant life on Pandora.

As on Earth, plants on Pandora have evolved the ability to respond to gravity, though its force is weaker on Pandora. As a result, gigantism is found in plants, and the typical orientation - stems growing up and roots growing down - does not necessarily hold true. The tallest trees, which are limited on Earth by the physical height to which their transport tissue can move water, reach much greater heights on Pandora in its lower gravity. The presence of a magnetic field and ionizing radiation have selected for growth responses toward these stimuli, named magnetotropism, which is found on both Earth and Pandora, seem quite tame by comparison.

Although, plants on Pandora have been given various common and Latin names, using the standard nomenclature accepted on Earth for biological organisms, their systematic classification remains a mystery. Some appear quite simple and perhaps primitive, while others have fantastic, seemingly highly evolved adaptations to the particular conditions on Pandora.

Most intriguing is the presence of life-forms that have characteristics of both plants and animals. These zooplantae (or colloquially "planimals") have incipient nervous systems that give them the kind of organic intelligence found in primitive animals. This discovery continues to baffle and delight biologists and botanists who mus reassess their preconceptions about the mechanics of life. As most everything here, this mystery awaits furth study by scientists lucky enough to make it to Pandora.

More after the Jump...

Creatures

Dire Horse

Common Name: Direhorse

Na'vi Name: Pa'li

Taxonomy: Equidirus hoplites or “feared armored horse”

Habitat: Rainforests and grasslands, but adaptable to most Pandoran environments. A grazing  animal that has been domesticated by the Na’vi as a riding animal.

Anatomy: Horse-like creature with six legs, tough skin with no fur, long necks and small head, bold stripes, flexible carbon fiber armor over shoulders and along the back of the neck and head.

Feeding Ecology: Land omnivore that uses long snout to feed on sap. some protein intake through insects trapped in sap. Favored food is direhorse pitcher plant. Effective pollinator.

Size: Over 4.25 meters long, up to four meters in height

Notes: Animal has neural interface that allows Na'vi and direhorse to move together with apparent effortlessness. A highly intelligent, calm creature that, like the Na'vi, can turn fierce in the face of battle.

Anatomy

The Direhorse is a large hexepodal (six limbed) grazing herbivore that shares characteristics of both Terran equine and ruminant animals. They eat vegetation almost exclusively, and possess a complex system of three stomachs, each specializing in the break down of specific types of biomass. Their six legs each end in a powerfully built hoof reinforced with a natural fiber weave much like the animal's skeleton. The reinforcement nearly eliminates the chances of a hoof cracking and splitting.

To fuel the muscles of their six powerful legs, the direhorse's lungs are fed directly by two rows of breathing valves located on the front of the chest, eliminating the rebreathing of air present in a windpipe when routed through the throat and mouth. The multiple valves also drastically increase the volume of air available, giving the animal impressive speed and endurance. The only drawback of this system is a direhorse cannot traverse water any deeper than its legs, as it will drown.

The direhorse has two prehensile neural interfaces that emerge from either side of the animal's skull. These appendages have feathery tips loaded with neurons and remain in constant motion as the animal explores its surroundings. In addition to their function as a link between herd members and their Na'vi riders, the interfaces also seem to possess a sensory function, much like the antennae of Terran insects. Xenobiologists believe that the touch of interfaces is for pleasure and affection, but also a means of transferring information about food sources and potential dangers; herds often move in unison shortly after touching antennae.

The animals are easily startled and can reach ninety-five kilometers per hour. The direhorse is larger by a third than the largest Terran draft horses such as the Clydesdale or the Percheron, and substantially larger than the biggest horse ever recorded on Earth. The Na'vi are excellent riders and the direhorse is a swift, nimble mount that is well-adapted to the rugged Pandoran terrain.

The Direhorse is a land herbivore found throughout most of Pandora's different environs. It is believed that it originated from the grassland regions, where herds of a few dozen to a few hundred animals range over territories of five hundred square kilometers or more. The direhorse's introduction to the planet's tropical regions probably coincided with its domesticated by the Na'vi.

On the plains, an adult direhorse had few natural predators that would risk challenging a herd. However in the jungle, the Thanator and Great Leonopteryx have both been observed isolating lost individuals and bringing them down with relative ease. Even a pack of Viperwolves have a fair chance to predate an adult direhorse cut off from the rest of the herd.

It grazes using its long snout and dexterous giraffe-like tongue, to feed on a wide variety of Pandoran flora, including grasses, ferns, and low lying leaves. In rain-forest environments, direhorses seek out beds of flowers for a quick caloric boost of sweet nectar, making the direhorse an important pollinator.

Many direhorses are tamed to aid their riders in the hunt and in battle. To bond with (or, in human terms, to “break”) a direhorse, a Na'vi must mount the animal and connect their neural queue to the animal's antennae (or neural whip). Once queue and antenna touch, the feathery tendrils automatically intertwine, almost as if possessed of free will. Although the exact motive force remains unknown, it is believed that the antennae may secrete a pheromone that evokes the unique intertwining.

Once intertwined, the Na'vi rider can communicate motor commands instantly through the neural interface. The apparent lack of effort makes it seem as if the direhorse is an extension of the rider's own body. This frees up the Na'vi to use a bow and arrow during a hunt or battle.

Unlike the Mountain Banshee, however, the neural link made between rider and direhorse does not lead to a life-long, exclusive bond between Na'vi and animal; although Na'vi have their favorite mounts, it is possible and permissible to ride another clan member's direhorse. The direhorse is a perfect mount to ride in the obstacle-strewn close quarters of a Pandoran forest; direhorses have excellent reaction times and can leap large distances.

Direhorses are the perfect war-fareing mount for the Na'vi, and played a crucial part in the showdown between Na'vis and humans. Direhorses are an important part of many Clans, such as the Horse Clan of the Plains (known as the Omatipa'li).

more after the Jump...

Banshees

Bonding with a banshee is a dangerous and required rite of passage for all would-be Na'vi warriors. Like the direhorse, a Na'vi can connect to a banshee through a neural interface that allows animal and rider to move with apparent effortlessness through the skies. Unlike the direhorse, however, the banshee will only bond with one Na'vi in its lifetime.

The mountain banshee rookery is high in the Hallelujah Mountains. The largest rookery, which features the biggest specimens (and therefore the best to tame for riding), is in grottoes and outcrops on a sheer cliff face of Mons Veritatis, one of the largest of the floating mountains. It is here that the Na'vi come to select (and be selected by) a banshee for domestication. The bonded mountain banshees nest in the highest branches of Hometree, where they can be close at hand for their Na'vi rider.

more after the Jump

Hallelujah Mountains

The Hallelujah Mountains (Na'vi name: "Thundering Rocks") are floating islands that circulate slowly in the magnetic currents like icebergs at sea, scraping against each other and the towering mesa-like mountains of the region. On Pandora, huge outcroppings of Unobtainium rip loose from the surface and float in the magnetic vortices due to the Meissner Effect.

The entire area is sacred to the Na'vi. They are the staging ground for Iknimaya, a treacherous but fundamental rite of passage in which a young Na'vi must select, capture, and successfully bond with one of the ikran (Banshees) who nest there. This poses a problem for the humans who have come to mine them for their mineral wealth. The mountains float like clouds among the fixed mountains and swirling cloud structures. When they are in clear sunlight they cast distinct shadows on the land below.

more after the Jump...

Wallpapers

Here are some of my favorite wallpapers. The links for the artists that created them (that I know about) are beneath in the code of their names. Click thumbnails for larger downloads...

 

Azurelle

more after the jump....

Hometree

Function         Spiritual and physical home of the Omaticaya
Na'vi Name     Kelutral
Size                About 460 meters tall, roughly thirty meters in diameter

There are hundreds of disparate Na'vi clans on Pandora. Some of the clans, including the Omaticaya, live in ancient trees that are two to three times the height of the Terran redwoods that once covered the Pacific Northwest.

The name Hometree is misleading, as the structure is actually comprised of a grove of intertwined trees of the same species that have grown together, providing for mutual strength and structural reinforcement. This, coupled with Pandora's low gravity, is what accounts for the immense height of Hometree. The Omaticaya revere this quality of Hometree as a constant reminder that a community is stronger and more resilient than the sum of the individuals who comprise it. Hometrees are generally described as being more than a hundred meters tall, with a hollow base supported by mangrove-like roots. Within this base there are many columns, creating a large central area. In this central area is a natural spiral staircase, which the Na'vi use to move up and down the tree. The hometree was presumed to be over a thousand years old due to its rarity and size. It is believed that hundreds of generations of Na'vi have lived there (and are buried in its roots)

The circumference of Hometree is great enough to house dozens of clan members. The tree is honeycombed with natural hollows and alcoves in which the Na'vi sleep, eat, weave, dance, and celebrate their connection to Eywa. Each Hometree has enough room to comfortably accommodate the members of each Na'vi clan. Hence, there are no cases of Na'vi overpopulation on Pandora, they have no need to expand beyond their Hometree to conquer more territory, as resources are plentiful. When a young Omaticaya becomes a man he is allowed to make his bow out of the wood of hometree. Hometree was recently destroyed by the corporation under the authority of Parker Selfridge and Colonel Miles Quaritch, forcing the Omaticaya to flee. Like many sacred sites on Pandora, Hometree sits above a large deposit of unobtanium.