Gemtrap cactus

Plant Name: Gemtrap cactus 

Home Island : Orevein

Practical uses: The digestive juices, housed inside the fake gemstone at the center of the flower are often used in cleaning products due to their acidic nature, which breaks down things rather easily. The main stem and branches of the cactus are edible and are often put into soups and/or seasoned like meat. 

Unique properties: The Gemtrap cactus is carnivorous- it will try to eat anything that touches the flowers and/or the fake gem inside them, even if the 'prey' is much too large for it to handle. The 'gemstone' itself is the lure of the plant, and it is used to attract critters, birds, bugs and anything else that might enjoy a shiny stone- inside it are the digestive juices which burst open once the flower closes around it's prey. The flowers themselves, as well as the gemstones come in many colors- and gemstones may also vary in shape and size. 
The Gemtrap cactus grows to be fairly tall, about the size of a small tree- something it shares a few traits with. Not only does it have a tree like structure with branches stretching out from the main stem, but when under times of stress, the cactus can mutate, causing 'burls' to form- these often are closer to the ground and contain flowers as well. These burls are noted for their gnarly shape, and often times the plant does not store food within them- as such the dark pink/red color that comes from it's food is not found within the burls. 
When the Gemtrap digests it's prey it extracts the water needed to survive in the desert from them, as well as the nutrients that the plant needs to stay healthy. Anything that can't be digested (bones, mainly) is often blown away in the nightly winds. 

Blurb/lore: Nobody quite knows how this cactus came about, but it's strange properties and carnivorous nature have led it to be the subject of many bedtime and fireside stories. Often, it is a symbol of caution about how greed corrupts, and how you should always be careful in the wilderness. However, despite this, people claim the cactus itself to be good luck, as it means that there are enough critters in the area to sustain it. 

Submitted By WesternGates ・ View Favorites
Submitted: 1 month ago ・ Last Updated: 2 weeks ago