Polux tree

Polux tree

After generations of exposure, these trees have evolved to metabolize pollutants. By drawing pollutants from the ground through wide root networks, they slowly clean polluted terrain in their vicinity. However, they cannot do this if buildings are constructed over their roots.
Unlike most methods of cleaning polluted terrain, polux trees do not create toxic wastepacks.

Base Stats

Type

Plant – Wild

Beauty

0 (6)

HP

300

Flammability

100%

Plant Stats

Time to grow

10 days (18.46 days)

Work to Sow

400 ticks (6.67 secs)

Work to Harvest

1,000 ticks (16.67 secs)

Base Harvest Yield

30

Min Fertility

5%

Fertility Sensitivity

0%

Min light to grow

0%

The Polux tree is a tree added by the Biotech DLC. It grows within polluted environments and is capable of absorbing pollution in an area similar to a pollution pump (7 tile wide circle). Unlike pollution pumps, polux trees do not generate any toxic wastepacks after absorbing the surrounding pollution. This makes them a safer way to remove pollution.

Growing

Like the gauranlen tree, the polux tree does not naturally occur in any ecology. It naturally appears on maps with pollution, and can be spawned by the "polux tree" event,

Every 15 days, the current pollution level and current tree population are checked. If the current amount of trees are below the assigned value, a tree may be spawned.^[Chance?] These numbers also determine the amount of starting trees in your colony.

• No pollution (0-25%): 0 polux trees
• Light pollution (25%-50%): 0 polux trees
• Moderate pollution (50%-75%): 1 polux tree
• Extreme pollution (75%-100%): 3 polux trees

Polux trees never spawn within 16 tiles of each other.

Polux seeds can also be bought from traders or obtained from quest rewards.^{[Other ways?]}

Summary

• Cleans 1 tile of pollution every 25,000 ticks (10 in-game hours).
• Needs 150,000 ticks (2.5 in-game days) to clean 1 deteriorated toxic wastepack (6 tiles).
• Is only 20% as fast as a wastepack atomizer.

Polux trees are considered "super", meaning that pawns with the Trees: Desired precept will receive the "amazing tree" thought after seeing one. Despite both being dendrovores, thrumbos will not eat polux trees, while alphabeavers will. Polux trees are immune to blight.

They technically take damage from toxic spewers and toxic fallout, but regenerate faster than they take damage.

Analysis

The easiest way to use polux trees is to plant them nearby, and leave toxic wastepacks in a stockpile zone next to the tree. Wastepacks outdoors deteriorate into pollution every 8 days assuming no rain or cold temperatures, creating 6 tiles of pollution.

In 8 days, a polux tree cleans 19.2 tiles. Meaning that a single polux tree can have a stockpile of 3.2 stacks of wastepacks deteriorating without being overwhelmed. However, this assumes that no rain ever increases the deteriorating rate of the packs. To avoid this, consider placing the stockpile next to a natural rock face to act as a support for a roof to cover the stockpile. It is also possible to build a room that encloses the polux tree without infringing on its exclusion zone (while being partially unroofed) to ensure that all wastepack stacks that are under roofed tiles in the room deteriorate every 16 days.

An other easy (and free) way of using the tree is to dump your pollution in a tile five to seven tiles away from yours, and when high enough in pollution, settle it as second base. This'll give access to 3 free trees and can use transport pods without penalty ^[Verify]. Still a lot should be considered before settling a 2nd base and there's a lot more uses for a second base than just 3 polux trees and other uses should be considered for it.

Due to the tree's relatively low waste-clearing speed and the fact that low amounts of pollution do not have much impact on your colony, there is an argument that polux seeds are not worth their  1,200 price tag. As long as the pollution is physically far away, the only negatives of it are wastepack infestations and acidic smog. Polux trees do not stop infestations, as they occur on wastepack destruction, not pollution in general. Meanwhile, acidic smog can be mitigated almost entirely by using sun lamp greenhouses and non-solar energy. Even then, at only 10% or so pollution (200 wastepacks), smog is a rare event.

That being said, these trees don't contribute to your colony wealth, inviting lower raid points than the  2,440 wastepack atomizer does. In very long runs, a tree can absorb up to a considerable amount of waste. For example a single polux tree can absorb 245 wastepack in roughly 10 years which is equivalent to a single cooler's capacity in hot biomes, it is a lot when considering that a cooler takes a 9*9 area and 200W of constant power while tree's only cost is buying and setting it up and it can clean even more pollution.

A polux tree can clean a bit more than 1 toxifier generator's worth of waste, allowing for a form of clean energy. The tree cannot be placed near the generator, making you use a pollution pump and have colonists haul it to the tree. Although given how pollution doesn't spread under natural rock, it is possible to get around this by having the generator inside a 2*2 hole in the mountain with two sides open (one for wires, one for pollution) and a tree nearly overlap the generator to clean additional pollution also to get rid of artificial building limitation it can be placed in farmlands (and remove growing zone from under tree. Still, clean energy should be compared to 1. leaving wastepacks far from your colony and buying the polux seeds later, or 2. freezing the wastepacks. If you have no better use for silver, then you might as well buy the trees.

Gallery

• 

  Polux tree variant A

• 

  Polux tree variant B

• 

  Polux tree variant C

• 

  Chopped polux stump variant A

• 

  Chopped polux stump variant B

• 

  Smashed polux stump variant A

• 

  Smashed polux stump variant B

Version history

• Biotech DLC Release - Added.
• 1.4.3555 - Polux seeds introduced, which can be planted on polluted ground.

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Plants

Domesticated plants

Cocoa tree • Corn plant • Cotton plant • Devilstrand mushroom • Haygrass • Healroot • Hop plant • Potato plant • Psychoid plant • Rice plant • Smokeleaf plant • Strawberry plant • Tinctoria • Fibercorn • Gauranlen pod • Nutrifungus • Toxipotato plant

Decorative plants

Dandelions • Daylily • Rose • Bonsai tree

Wild plants

Agarilux • Agave • Alocasia • Ambrosia bush • Astragalus • Berry bush • Brambles • Bryolux • Bush • Chokevine • Clivia • Giant rafflesia • Glowstool • Grass • Low shrubs • Moss • Pincushion cactus • Tall grass • Wild healroot • Anima grass • Gauranlen moss

Trees

Bamboo tree • Birch tree • Cecropia tree • Cypress tree • Drago tree • Maple tree • Oak tree • Palm tree • Pine tree • Poplar tree • Saguaro cactus • Teak tree • Willow tree • Timbershroom • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree

Special

Anima tree • Gauranlen tree • Polux tree • Harbinger tree

Tree stumps

Burned stump • Chopped stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger ) • Smashed stump (Gauranlen , Anima , Polux , Harbinger )

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Biotech (DLC)

Families

Relationships (Reproduction • Children)
Life stages (Babies • Children • Adults)
Furniture (Crib • Baby sleeping spot • Growth vat • Toy box • Baby decoration • School desk • Blackboard)

Mechanoids

Laborers (Agrihand • Cleansweeper • Constructoid • Fabricor • Lifter • Paramedic • Tunneler)
Combatants (Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron)
Commanders (Apocriton • Diabolus • War queen • War urchin)

Mechanitors

Control (Mechlink • Band node • Mech boosters • Mech signallers • Control pack • Airwire headset)
Mechanoid creation (Basic subcore • Standard subcore • High subcore • Subcore encoder • Subcore softscanner • Subcore ripscanner • Mech gestator)
Maintenance (Mech recharger)

Genetics

Xenohumans (Dirtmoles • Genies • Highmates • Hussars • Impids • Neanderthals • Pigskins • Sanguophages • Wasters • Yttakin)
Genes Germline • Xenogene • Metabolic efficiency
Genetic Modification Genepack • Gene extractor • Gene bank • Gene assembler • Gene processor • Xenogerm • Archite capsules
Deathrest (Deathrest accelerator • Deathrest capacity serum • Deathrest casket • Glucosoid pump • Hemogen amplifier • Hemopump • Psychofluid pump)

Pollution

Nature (Toxalope • Toxipotato plant • Waste rat • Gray pine tree • Pebble cactus • Rat palm tree • Witchwood tree • Stasis cocoon)
Mitigation (Wastepacks • Atomizers • Pollution pumps • Polux trees)
Adaptation Face mask • Gas mask • Tox grenades • Tox pack • Tox shell • Toxic needle gun • Toxbomb launcher • Detoxifier kidney • Detoxifier lung
Nonchalance Toxifier generator