Joschua's Bearded Tree

Exclusively found on a group of small unnamed islands in the Atlantic, Joschua's bearded tree, also known as a Sedum tree, is an interesting member of its genus. Sedums are commonly known as stonecrops, usually low-growing flowering succulant plants. It gets its name from its unique adaptation: rather than relying purely on its roots to extract the moisture it needs, it grows air roots covered in microscopic hairs from its branches and trunk that collect moisture directly from the air. This has enabled it to conquer the driest and most inhospitable parts of its native island. Joschua's bearded tree can also utilizes these air roots to spread: when a small branch with air roots breaks off and lands in a suitably sunny free spot, the air roots grow into the ground and develop into the roots of a new tree.

This is my entry to Hyrotrioskjan's Spec Challenge #4, which was a botanical one for a change. I had to stray quite far from my comfort zone with this one, because I don't know as much about plant physiology as I'd like, but it was an interesting experiment nonetheless.