Sanctusian Wildtrees

Name: Sanctusian Wildtrees, “Goop trees”- no scientific name for Order given

Description: Sanctusian Wildtrees are not a single species, but an order of organisms, much like Pinales and Fagales. All Wildtrees are known for their thick trunks and branches and waxy, teal-coloured needles. Bark colours are always dark, and range from brown to ashy grey. Pushing hard on a wildtree trunk will cause it to yield slightly, as there is soft material underneath. The easiest way to identify a wildtree is to cut into its bark. If it contains a soft gelatin-like substance underneath, it belongs to the order.
(Will insert picture later)

Behavior: Wildtrees are stationary plants and do not move or think. Some species do react to their environment by lightening the colour of their bark slightly when overheated, however.

Tamability: Being a tree, it is easy to grow in captivity provided the person knows what they are doing.

Where is it found?: Wildtrees are completely exclusive to the continents Domum, Angius and Diu of the elusive planet Sanctus. They are found nowhere else, unless someone were to take a sample off the surface.

The location and spread of 12 different Wildtree species throughout the continents of Sanctus.​

Rarity: Relatively easy to find on the three previously mentioned continents, but otherwise nonexistent.

Diet: Wildtrees photosynthesize with their needles, just like earth trees.

Products: Wildtree bark contains small amounts of caffeine to prevent native insects from attempting to get at the fat despots underneath. Species that live in warmer regions of the planet, where insect activity is higher, have higher concentrations of caffeine that are worth harvesting.
The fat itself can also be harvested and consumed without trouble, though it is relatively tasteless when eaten alone. Wildtree wood cores function like regular wood and can be used for a variety of purposes. The needles of the Wildtree produce a pleasant scent when burned, and are a good firestarter when dried.

Reproduction: Unlike earth trees, Wildtrees are similar to ferns and create spores.

Size: Varies depending on the species. Average height ranges from fifty to a hundred feet.

Weight: Varies.

Lifespan: Like earth trees, the average is around seventy, but some are several centuries old.

Abilities: Since Sanctus is colder than earth, Wildtrees take extra measures to stay warm. Wildtrees maintain a core temperature of around 20-28 degrees Celsius by producing an insulating unsaturated (or saturated) fat layer similar to adipose tissue underneath its bark, and circulating the heat with a rudimentary sap circulation system. This adipose tissue doubles as energy storage for the tree. Trees living in colder climates have thicker fat layers. While a fat layer isn’t needed to survive in cold temperatures, it increases the efficiency at which the Wildtree photosynthesizes.

Adipose tissue from an animal.


Duck fat has a very similar appearance to the insulating tissue of the Wildtrees.​

Flaws: Sanctus has no large native animal life, so the Wildtree has no defence against anything large enough to take a sip of coffee without dropping dead. Invasive extraterrestrial life, like earth-native birds and the common brown bear, have a very easy time getting at the fat despots if they are smart enough to figure out that they exist, and could threaten the tree in the future. The trees would also be vulnerable to mass-logging should Sanctus’ sapient population grow.

Other: Because Sanctus orbits its star roughly once every two thousand earth years, it does occasionally have periods in which it is much warmer. This shows in some extremely old Wildtrees, in which its wood core is very thick and oddly ringed but its fat layer is not. When exposed to warmer temperatures, Wildtrees will break down its fat layer to prevent overheating, but its wood core continues to grow, resulting in an oddly proportioned tree.
The presence of caffeine in the bark of even the coldest species of Wildtrees shows that insects may spread to northern climates when Sanctus is closer to its star.