Flora:Giant Goblet Plant

These tree-like flora get their name from their distinctive shape, which is that of a goblet or cocktail glass. They can reach heights of to 60 ft (18.3 m) with a canopy diameter of up to 44 ft (13.4 m). Their tops comprise an array of fourteen to sixteen large, leaf-life projections that act like solar panels, consisting of hundreds of hexagonal sections of photosynthetic cells. These projections are very rigid and are covered by a nearly transparent membrane that resembles animal skin in its elasticity and firmness. To prevent the plant’s bowl-shaped canopy from overheating in the blazing desert heat of Helen, this membrane has a mirrored surface like glass, and reflects a fair amount of light away from the plant’s "leaves".

The plant’s canopy also serves another purpose. Water is vital to life on Helen, as it is on Earth. However, rainfall is infrequent on Helen, occurring only once every few years in desert places. Thus, the Goblet Plant has a special trick up its sleeve: when it rains, the canopy acts as a basin, collecting precious water. Filled to its maximum potential, this canopy can collect up to 40,000 cubic feet of water. It also possesses two slits on opposite ends of the bowl to drain out excess water so the plant can still collect some light. If left standing, the water in the basin would evaporate in a matter of a day or two. Thus, pores in the plant’s leaves quickly transport water to the plant’s circulatory system, which runs down the thick, rigid stem to an underground mass of fleshy tubes that stores water and nutrients for the plant. This bulb-like storage center is rock-hard on the exterior, and can reach a diameter nearly as large as the canopy, and a weight of up to 240 tons (220 metric tonnes).

The Giant Goblet Plant reproduces by sending temporary conical gonads out through the soil to the surface. These structures produce a nutritious, sticky fluid that attracts springheels and all other manner of herbivorous creatures to consume the liquid. These animals then travel to other Goblet Plants, do the same, and pollinate them. Upon fertilization, a single Goblet Plant grows out from within the gonad, eventually forming its own root system.