Story Checklist    Arthur Porges: Dreamer    Mystery Fiction
Poetry    Cover Artwork    Unusual Plants of the Galaxy    Links

Unusual Plants of the Galaxy

by Arthur Porges

Introduction
Presented here, with Mr. Porges's kind permission, are a rare series of science fiction vignettes that were originally published in a (now defunct) small press newspaper in 1996. These pieces, unusual indeed, are delightful and intricately imagined speculations on some of the plant life that might exist on other planets in our galaxy. A detailed knowledge of botany on the part of Mr. Porges is evident, and his creations, wonderfully described, are not only charming, but strangely plausible as well! I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

~ Vedius Flame Lily ~

by Arthur Porges

First published in "Memo", ca. 1996.

The Flame-Lily of Vedius, the 2nd planet of Saiph in the Constellation of Orion, is truly remarkable, unexpected biologically, and its arising there is almost certainly unique in the universe. Its flame, small and dim by day, larger and brighter at night, attracts the mothlike "insects" (very different from Earth's Arthropods) that supply the plant with protein. The flame also deters most predators which would relish the lily's fleshy leaves or its thick, oily roots. One has to marvel at how natural selection, powerful as it is, brought about this development. The verdict is not yet in, and biologists are still divided on the mechanism by which this Promethean plant managed to acquire and control fire. But it has and does! Imagine a mere plant rivaling man himself in such a triumph!

A stiff, narrow tube arises between the creamy petals with their black rosettes; from it comes hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water in the damp soil about the roots. The gas is set alight and burns continuously as circumstances permit. Since pure hydrogen, as all chemistry students know, burns with almost no color, the lily actually infuses it with organic particles from its food, so that as with a candle, a yellow tinge makes it quite visible, especially in the dark. Energy to generate the hydrogen, as with insectivorous plants on Earth, comes from the bodies of its prey, which lured by the light are scorched, fall into a kind of bowl, and are absorbed and liquefied by acidic fluid secreted by the lily.

The most obvious question about this amazing organism, one of vital importance, is: how can any organic matter - in this case the tube - withstand fire and not be consumed and carbonised to ash. The answer is that the tube is lined with an oxide of silica plentiful in the soil of Vedius. On Earth, silicon fibers are found in many plants, like Equisetum, and even in some marine organisms.

Another crucial question is: How does the lily strike a light? Saiph is not a very hot star, but Vedius orbits it rather closely, so that sunlight, when available, is appreciable. In the morning, when dew forms on the plant, the light rays are focused by little globules of water collected by tentacles arising between the petals. It's astonishing to watch tiny points of light move slowly along the silica tube until, at the top, they meet, ignite the hydrogen, and flame appears. According to the legendary botanist, "The Female Darwin" Dr. (Exobiology) Susan Wright, who first studied the lily 90 years ago, tendrils bend gradually toward water drops collected on a web-like network, and thanks to surface tension, pick up globules and adjust the tiny magnifiers to exactly the right position to ignite the gas.

Of course, no plant has the kind of muscles common to animals, but as with our Venus Flytrap, it manages its movement by hydraulics, using sap. For the Flame-Lily, wonderful as it is, life is not, pardon the phrase, a Bed of Roses. If its flame blows out when there are clouds, it cannot be lit; and, that night, predators move in, devour the leaves and destroy the plant. Even if missed by such enemies, a dark plant captures no insects.

An intriguing - some would say amusing - aspect of the strange plant is that in those rather uncommon areas fertile enough to sustain a small colony of flowers, a variety of little animals take advantage of their warmth by clustering there. It may be a symbiotic relationship, since these "squatters" have been known to unite to drive away the minor predators able to kill and feed upon the lily. The plant is fairly rare even on Vedius. It is difficult to grow it on Earth, but plant fanciers in the small city of Pacific Grove, in California, have managed to accomplish that unusual feat. Be sure to go there and ask about them, if you can, as when you next visit Earth.

~ Redi's Squash Plant ~

by Arthur Porges

First published in "Memo", Issue 64, ca. 1996.

Redi, the giant, only, planet of Gamma Draconis, a 2.3 magnitude star in the Constellation Draco, 108 light years from earth, is home to the fascinating, unique Swatter Plant. The planet is named for the 17th century Italian naturalist, Francesco Redi, who by a series of brilliant experiments demolished the widely-held but fallacious conviction that maggots arose spontaneously in rotting meat.

As for the plant itself, it was first spotted, oddly enough, not by a botanist, or even a biologist, but a mathematical philosopher, Edward J. Nauss, who was vacationing on Redi in 2348. Despite its size, some 100,000 kilometers in diameter, the planet, thanks to its low density, roughly that of lithium, has a surface gravity only slightly greater than Earth's, so that humans are perfectly comfortable there. That, plus a salubrious atmosphere and a host of interesting but non-aggressive animals, makes the planet terrestrial-friendly, so to speak.

The plant, which strikes many observers as almost clownish in its operations, thrives best in the fairly rare patches of soil that are rich in a very heavy, non-reactive, organic oil, almost twice the density of water. Water, which might serve the Swatter's need tolerably well, is rare on Redi. Nitrogen is also in short supply, and since, like carbon and hydrogen, it is vital to a plant's survival, the plant must get it from living organisms much like our own insectivorous ones.

The basic operative parts of the Swatter consist of a large, 15 by 18cm, base leaf, oval-shaped, very porous, and covered with hundreds of trigger-hairs to detect and report any prey moving across it, and an upper leaf, to be described shortly. It should be noted that if too many such sensors are activated, the plant somehow knows the potential dinner is too big to be successfully attacked, and withholds its deadly blow. The base leaf, it should be pointed out, is dense and tough, almost as hard as wood, a quality essential to its role.

From the bottom of the Swatter's thick stem there springs a slender branch, highly flexible and vascular. It bears at its top, some 50 centimeters up as a rule, a structure which, along with the base leaf, completes the plant's killing mechanism. It is roughly the same size as the "anvil" below, with a flat, tough lower side and a thinner, expansible upper one. The latter, when filled with the heavy oil drawn up by capillary and other forces common to earth's plants, resembles a partly-deflated balloon, flat on the bottom and shaped like a football above.

Now, when any of the small, insect-like or even mouse-like creatures numerous on Redi happen to traverse the base leaf, sensors alert the plant, which like the Venus flytrap on earth, can free the oleodraulic hammer instantly to fall! It was the WHOMP! of such a stroke that drew Nauss's attention and led to the discovery of the Swatter. He roared with laughter on realising what that sound implied, so reminiscent it was of the ancient, primitive fly-swatters once common on earth, and it led, of course, to the plant's name.

When the prey has been mashed against the firm base-leaf, its juices are slowly absorbed by many little pores and digested for their nitrogen and other essential nutriments. Since the fluid-filled "balloon" is far too heavy to be hoisted back into position some fifty centimeters high, it is quickly drained of its oil by five valves evenly placed around its longer circumference and then raised by its springy, slender branch, after which it will gradually be refilled, ready for its next victim.

The Swatter is unique to Redi, but can be grown elsewhere if its vital oil, which has so far defied synthesis, is extracted from the ground and injected into foreign soil; but the operation is very tricky, and often fails. But the experience of observing the plant's killing mechanism in operation is available in RNA tablet form in the gift shop in the north lobby.

The above pieces may not be reprinted or reproduced in any form without permission.

All works on this page are © 1996, by Arthur Porges.

More pieces in this series will be posted here soon. Please check back for updates.

Please e-mail Richard Simms with any questions, comments, or contributions.
All website contents, except where noted, are © Copyright by Richard Simms 1999 - 2002.
This website was last updated on September 30th, 2002.    Return to Homepage.