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[micelus]

Remember that the mice are on the other side of the sewer, separated by water.

[Origami_Psycho]

Oh, in that case, lets wreck this pitiful damn of fermroot.

[flame99]

Oh, in that case, lets wreck this pitiful damn of fermroot.

Not all of it. If I understood Micelus's post correctly, then the fermroots are keeping the soil in place. Quite frankly, having our island get washed away and have us vulnerable to the evil fish is NOT good for us right now. I definitely want to eat some of those plants with the "devious blooms". It implies that they are carnivorous plants, and most carnivorous plants dissolve prey with stomach acids, IIRC. Getting some of that and having our grinder produce it will be a major boon.

[Aseaheru]

if we remember what end the grinder is on that is.

[flame99]

if we remember what end the grinder is on that is.

Excuse me if this is an idiotic question, but why would we not? And if not, why would our bug really care that he has trouble remembering the sharp side? It wouldn't take him/her so long to figure it out, and we haven't had this trouble before we had any brain to speak of.

[Aseaheru]

we did not last time.

remember?

[Imp]

we did not last time.

remember?

I'm not at all convinced that our grinder is the best weapon we have - I believe that our digestive skin is far more useful than we've yet shown, and we've shown it to be utterly awesome.  Our grinder might not have even fit into the oriface that we destroyed that monster through, at least before we enlarged it.  And we really didn't need a grinder for that fight - we rendered that monster harmless and ate our fill without needing it; what more could we have gained if we'd ground?

Why chase the mice that are still watching us, guys?  Ignore the prey that sees you, eat the prey that doesn't know you're there, mmm?  Less work/greater reward?

We're surrounded by plants that have DNA we've never sampled - some of these plants seem scary to our new primitive nervous system.  That's.... very interesting.

Have a drink.  Examine scary plants/approach one or more of them from an angle that seems safe-ish and consume samples of nearby unfamiliar plants/if there seems no safe approach press under the mud/soil/dirt layer beneath us, seeking (hopefully less defended) roots to sample.

[Kazymir]

I'm pretty sure those plants are adhesive or poisonous. Let's not get too close.

[bombzero]

I'm pretty sure those plants are adhesive or poisonous. Let's not get too close.

An adhesive plant would be a terrible defense against us, our skin would just start to dissolve it as soon as we got stuck.

[GreatWyrmGold]

I'm pretty sure those plants are adhesive or poisonous. Let's not get too close.

An adhesive plant would be a terrible defense against us, our skin would just start to dissolve it as soon as we got stuck.

Only if it was the digestive skin...

[Imp]

Only if it was the digestive skin...

If I got to meet our neat wee beasty, and wanted to catch it alive (I'd rather run.  Much rather run.  Especially if it's motivated the way that I enjoy imagining it is motivated) I believe there's really only one method that 'might' work to safely hold it down - to pin it across its entire bodylength.  Like you pin down a snake's head with a catchpole?  Only the parts that are not pinned would coil around, bringing digestive skin into contact with the restraint.  I'm having extreme difficulty imagining how anything could catch us using 'stickiness' unless it caught every part of our length at once.

My bigger worries about these plants is that 1) they could be some sort of functioning 'snapdragon' sort of bodypart; or that 2) they could contain chemicals that our 'liver' cells cant detoxify, and we get poisoned, or that 3) they might just have a better digestive enzyme than ours.  I'm most worried about a functional snap-trap style catching part.

We rarely see a plant's root system, since it's underground, but when we check most Earth plants their root systems are huge - around 1/3 to 1/4 of the plant's dry weight is root system, spoilered is some science about predicting where in space one can expect to find 'most types of plant roots' for anyone interested in that...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

from http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/132.html

The depth and spread of roots are dependent on the inherent growth characteristics of the plant and the soil’s texture and structure.  Roots require adequate levels of soil oxygen, so growth habit will be a factor of the soil’s large pore space where oxygen is available.  On compacted and clayey soils, roots will be shallow, remaining near the surface where oxygen is available.  On droughty soils, the root system will spread farther, mining a larger soil area for moisture and minerals.
 
Figure 5.  The typical rooting pattern of a tree is shallow and spreading

It is difficult to predict root spread of any plant.  Under favorable growing conditions, the typical root spread of a tree includes:
 90-95% in top 36 inches
 50% in top 12 inches
 Spreads 2-3 times tree’s height or canopy (drip-line) spread
 
On compacted clayey soils, the typical root spread of trees includes:
 90-95% in top 12 inches or less
 50% in top 4 inches
 Potentially spreads five plus times the tree’s height or canopy (drip-line) spread
 
For additional information on the root system of trees, refer to CMG GardenNotes #103, Diagnosing Root and Soil Disorders on Landscape Trees.
 
Some plants are genetically programmed to have very deep, spreading root systems (i.e., they are more tolerant of low soil oxygen levels).  This growth habit is an environmental adaptation.  Examples include bindweed and prairie grasses.
 
Soil type is a key factor in water penetration and root uptake.  Where soil allows, the primary water extraction depth extends to:
 Flowers            18-24”
 Turf                 24”
 Vegetables       24”
 Shade trees      24-60”

If the plant's seem scary enough, then we don't get close to the scary parts.  If it's got evil catchy mouths, there's at least a chance that it's got rooty-roots we can nibble, enough to get a DNA sample from without risking the snapy-mouths.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Yeah, be careful around the plants.

[Thecard]

Well, if we got eaten by the plant, it wouldn't mean immediate death, would it?  We have a grinder, and digestive skin.  It's more likely than not that we would best it.  Plants are really made for fighting anything, especially if that something is inside of it.  After all, most insects don't have grinders and digestive skin.  None that come to mind, at least.

I mean, that's the awesome thing about being the first of a species.  Nothing is going to be adapted to specifically hunt or avoid us.

[weenog]

We aren't tough or durable at all.  We are a delicate porcelain teacup with some weapons, and so far a lot of luck.  If our new proto-brain is telling us it would be a bad idea to approach something, let's listen to it.  Maybe try to get ourselves some new weapons after we have a realistic chance of surviving being on the receiving end.

[flame99]

We aren't tough or durable at all.  We are a delicate porcelain teacup with some weapons, and so far a lot of luck.  If our new proto-brain is telling us it would be a bad idea to approach something, let's listen to it.  Maybe try to get ourselves some new weapons after we have a realistic chance of surviving being on the receiving end.

It didn't say that the whole plant looked dangerous; just the bloom. I only think we should get a bite out of the stem, and NOT get close to the bloom, or eat the entire thing. That would be bad.