Lilypad

Lilypads are a large flora species that create the unusual landscape of the Lilypad Islands biome.

Appearance
In its mature form the Lilypad sports one huge leaf that is circular and floats on top of the water's surface. The leaf is green and has many veins extending outwards from the base of the leaf which is directly in the centre. The trunk of the lilypad hangs in the water, anchoring it to a heavy piece of earth that stops it from drifting.

The lilypad displays a multi-staged life cycle through which it changes drastically.


 * It begins as a small curled leaf anchored to the ground by a thin stem. Several other smaller stems protrude from the ground below around it.
 * Next the leaf grows into a fan shape and the smaller stems around the base grow longer, ensnaring the main stem and firmly anchoring it to the ground. This stage has two versions, one being a little taller.
 * In the third stage the leaf appears to become inflated with gas, which causes the lilypad to become buoyant, ripping the ground it was growing in away from the seabed and up towards the surface.
 * At stage four it takes on the appearance of a lilypad, presumably the gas filled lilypad reaches the surface it opens up into a huge, flat, circular leaf that sits on the surface of the water.

Design
The lilypad, clearly, is based on real life lily pads such as Victoria amazonica the largest lily pad on Earth, reaching 3 metres in diameter. The lilypad plants of 4546B however are far larger.