>>5295044>>5295043Descendant of the spotted crust tree the Platerust instead of growing many separate segments that would strangle it when growing wider instead grow solid plates adding material along the edges of growth seams as it grows being pried up but not open, highly durable smaller amount of parts an that could break from wind or weight slightly more burn resistant due to increased girth and solid build not collapsing under its own weight after being charred, there survival strategy being simply to outlast other "tree" organisms.
you may notice the yellow orange growth at one of its branches its a mutated cap that never opens up, covered in even smaller caps growing on its surface forming soft but spiky looking thing it contains a fractal of thin underdeveloped branches inside surrounded by a mush of spores, its a benign mutation from when there segments fused growing sort of sideways its harmless and sometimes it helps spread spores being dropped sometimes on another creature or splatting to the ground spores taking root and feeding on dying spores as a extra store of nutrients
