Dark tree

One may find a Dark Tree looking just like cypress tree, except maybe somewhat darker and strangely devoid of moss. Looks can surely deceive the unsuspecting traveler, for this tree is known to graple and bite. It lives on drinking blood from humans and other intelligent creatures that wander inside their native jungle.

History
It is said that a Halruaan wizard wanted to created the dark trees as servants not unlike Treants some 200 years ago. The experiment went horribly wrong and the servants slew their master. They spread into the surrounding forests. Travellers have reported encountering these dangerous and huge plants in the Aeriplar Forest, the Forest of Amtar, Rethild, the Toadsquad Mountains and the southern and eastern reached of the Lluirwood. Originally they only habitated the Aeriplar Forest.

Physical Description
Resembling a darker version of the harmless cypress tree, the dark trees grow to 18 to 20 feet in heigth, with a span of branches 40 feet across. There have been some reports of dark trees growing twice that size, possibly due to their long lifespan.

Discerning a dark tree from a normal tree is not an easy task. Only the trained eye can spot two dark eyes set in the bark just above a maw that resembles a natural crack. Unlike treants one can hardly mistake the evil aura surrounding the dark tree. Which is by the way the only warning most adventurers will feel in their stomachs before the tree tries to graple their unaware victims or slash them with its branches.

Language
Dark trees do not speak although they have a huge maw when opened. Rangers and other skilled woodsmen think of a dark tree as intelligent as an owlbear and hence not able to communicate by a spoken language.

Combat
Dark trees prefer intelligent prey above small animals for an unknown reason. They seem content in tormenting their prey before killing them. Normally they would try to grab their victim with their two armlike branches and once held immoble they will try to drink its blood with their gaping maw.

Dark trees have also the ability to confuse their victims as a mental attack. It is unknown how a creature with low intellegence is able to do so, but reports have claimed adventurers getting lost in the deep forest after combat with a dark tree, wandering around mentally confused.