Treant

A treant is a huge intelligent plant.

Biology
Although a treant's wood appears to be solid like stone, it is filled with tubes that carry water from its roots to the areas where it is needed. Diseases such as tube wilt can affect these tubes and therefore the health of the treant.

Cormanthor
The treants in the forest of Cormanthor have become hosts for rot grubs which live off rotting wood. If a treant is affected by tube wilt, it will open up a small crack and let the grubs in. The grubs will eat through all the rotten wood, eating the fungi causing the disease, and usually remain for good and tackle subsequent rot. This relationship does not harm either party, and older, larger treants might contain up to a hundred of these grubs.

In order to ward off predators such as woodchucks or wood-eating horses, the Cormanthor treants surround their roots with up to six Cormanthor violet fungi, whose roots tap into the treant itself, using its sap as sustenance, and they will attempt to rot the flesh of any would-be predators.

In order to combat the threat of bark beetles and leaf ants which can damage the treant, they encourage azmyths and large bats to make their homes in their branches.

Black squirrels feed on the female treants' shoots, which helps to limit the treants' population.

Rimwood
The rimwood area contains birch-like treants with very long roots to reach the water. The sap contains an aroma of lemon and mint that can be used as a flavouring or perfume. Most have rot grubs, black squirrels, azmyths and purple fungi.

Midwood
The midwood treants look like golden willow and black locust trees. They protect themselves against brush rats by using the violet fungi. Their bark can be boiled to make either golden or black dye depending on their appearance.

Starwood
The starwood area contains treants that look like dark brown oaks and grey elms. Half are peaceful, but the other half are quite hostile, although they do utilize the rot grubs, fungi, black squirrels and azmyths. The leaves of these treants will cure certain fevers and plagues.