Cabbage Shootroot

 | Feature | Details | | :--- | :--- |-| **Species** | *Shootroot cabbage* |+| **Species** | Shootroot cabbage | | **Attitude** | Passive | | **Type** | Anchored | | **Category** | Starfish |-| **Biomes** | Plateaus, Shallows |+| **Biome** | Plateaus, Shallows |   ![Cabbage Shootroot](Cabbage Shootroot.png)   The **Cabbage Shootroot** is an anchored lifeform that lives in a symbiotic relationship with the [Aeroshell Sponge](Aeroshell_Sponge).   ## Appearance   The Cabbage Shootroot appears purple and has a similar form to a mushroom. On top of the arms is the pink dotted center which holds the mouth.   ## Databank Entry  -> **Shootroot cabbage**. A robust bottom-dwelling organism anatomically similar to a plastic starfish, or to an opened variety of Earth's extinct blastoids.->-> **1. Animal anatomy**->-> The cabbage shootroot's upward-facing mouth is surrounded by outstretched arms. These arms are hard, tightly grouped, partly calcified, and covered in a tough biopolymer characteristic of other shootroots (tentative name: polyproteovinyl). These arms produce the cabbage-leaf texture that gives the shootroot its name.->-> **2. Seabed burrowing**->-> A second set of arms uses ribbons of the same tough biopolymer to dig into the seabed, stirring up sediment and expanding cracks in rock. This is a difficult and metabolically expensive process, but it is a niche with little competition.->-> **3. Symbiote kiss**->-> The cabbage shootroot does not use its mouth to eat, or its hard leaflike arms to feed. These surfaces seem to be reserved for a symbiotic partner. The cabbage shootroot uses its mouth to transfer nutrients gathered by its roots to the symbiote, and to receive a trickle of food or chemistry in exchange.->-> **4. Circular nerve cord**->-> Like all shootroots, the cabbage shootroot is notable for its expression of a circular nerve cord.->-> **Assessment:** do not sit. You may receive nutrients.+**Source:** Scan a Cabbage Shootroot  -*Source: Scan a Cabbage Shootroot*+*Shootroot cabbage*. A robust bottom-dwelling organism anatomically similar to a plastic starfish, or to an opened variety of Earth's extinct blastoids.  +### 1. Animal anatomy+ +The cabbage shootroot's upward-facing mouth is surrounded by outstretched arms. These arms are hard, tightly grouped, partly calcified, and covered in a tough biopolymer characteristic of other shootroots (tentative name: polyproteovinyl). These arms produce the cabbage-leaf texture that gives the shootroot its name.+ +### 2. Seabed burrowing+ +A second set of arms uses ribbons of the same tough biopolymer to dig into the seabed, stirring up sediment and expanding cracks in rock. This is a difficult and metabolically expensive process, but it is a niche with little competition.+ +### 3. Symbiote kiss+ +The cabbage shootroot does not use its mouth to eat, or its hard leaflike arms to feed. These surfaces seem to be reserved for a symbiotic partner. The cabbage shootroot uses its mouth to transfer nutrients gathered by its roots to the symbiote, and to receive a trickle of food or chemistry in exchange.+ +### 4. Circular nerve cord+ +Like all shootroots, the cabbage shootroot is notable for its expression of a circular nerve cord.+ +**Assessment:** do not sit. You may receive nutrients.+  ## Gallery   ![Cabbage Shootroot with its symbiote in daylight hours](Cabbage Shootroot day.png) *Cabbage Shootroot with its symbiote in daylight hours*   ![The Aeroshell Sponge symbiote provides ample light at night](Cabbage Shootroot Night.png) *The Aeroshell Sponge symbiote provides ample light at night*   ![This specimen does not have a symbiote and may be a juvenile](Cabage Shootroot Immature .png) *This specimen does not have a symbiote and may be a juvenile*   ![A pale shootroot variant seen in Silver Mines](Cabbage Shootroot Silver Mines.png) *A pale shootroot variant seen in [Silver Mines](Silver_Mines)*