The vein pod (Na'vi name: värumut meaning "bad (smell) ball tree") is related to the puffball tree and puffer, both of which are considered keystone species on planet Pandora for their important role in maintaining the stability of the environment.
Displaying bioluminescence at night in the theme park
The globular balls produced at the tops of vein pod trees and the end of their branches act as sponges, absorbing methane from the atmosphere. This function is similar to that of the plant vacuole at the cellular level, which sequesters plant waste products and other molecules such as pigments and minerals. Because of their ability to sequester methane, these plants emit a strong foul odor and are usually avoided.
Methane is combustable and highly explosive when it builds up to high concentrations. However, because methane is less dense than the air on Pandora, the pods will detach and drift when they enlarge to a certain size. Explosions usually occur after the pods have detached and drifted off, making them relatively harmless to life on Pandora.
Kinglor Forest vein pod[]
In the Western Frontier, the globe remains attached by a sticky substance that is either a structural mutation or the secretion of a localized parasite. The globe will rise and seek to attach when approached, but it will only wobble. When undisturbed, it will settle back into the base.
Trivia[]
- Vein pods appear in the first film shortly after the woodsprites land on Jake Sully.
- Although the old Pandorapedia listed them as trees, The World of Avatar: A Visual Exploration lists them as plants instead of with the trees.
- While they are shown to emit a teal color at night in the film, they are also shown to emit purple in the Wii/PSP game and yellow at Pandora: The World of Avatar.
Source[]
- James Cameron's Avatar: The Game - Ingame Pandorapedia
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