Anima tree

Anima tree

Anima tree

A rare tree with warm, skin-smooth bark and long iridescent leaves. Infused with bioluminescent micro-organisms, anima trees develop a unique form of psychic symbiosis with surrounding lifeforms, allowing them to grow in a wide variety of biomes.
If a person (psycaster or not) meditates near an anima tree, it will grow anima grass around its base. Once enough grass is grown, it becomes possible to carry out a psychic linking ritual with the tree and upgrade a person's psychic powers. Only tribal peoples know the secret of this ritual. Tribal psycasters are also able to draw psyfocus from anima trees while meditating to them.
Anima trees' psychic properties are weakened if artificial structures are placed nearby. They refuse to be caged or studied, and must remain part of nature.
Most tribes believe that anima trees are not simply trees, but are rather the physical extremities of a single world spirit.

Base Stats

Type

Plant – Tree

Beauty

5 (1)

HP

400

Flammability

0%

Path Cost

42 (24%)

Building

Minifiable

False

Passability

pass through only

Cover Effectiveness

25%

Blocks Wind

True

Light Radius

1.91

Ingestion

Nutrition

2

Plant Stats

Time to grow

25 days (46.15 days)

Lifespan

Indefinite

Work to Harvest

800 ticks (13.33 secs)

Base Harvest Yield

25

Min Fertility

2%

Fertility Sensitivity

0%

Min light to grow

50%

The anima tree is a tree added by the Royalty DLC. It acts as a Natural meditation focus, and acts as a way to give psylinks to tribal pawns.

Growth

One anima tree spawns on most landing site maps. On larger map sizes, up to two may spawn. The Extreme Desert, Ice Sheet, and Sea Ice biomes are too inhospitiable for anima trees to spawn.

Anima trees are immune to fire, toxic fallout, can survive up to -50 °C (-58 °F), and will survive in the absence of light. Thrumbos will not eat anima trees, but alphabeavers can. It is also susceptible to both defoliators and defoliator ships. Anima grass is vulnerable to fire, and will rot if left without light, but will not be eaten by grazing animals.

Regrowth

Destruction of the anima tree causes the −6 anima scream moodlet for 5 days. This scales with Psychic Sensitivity.

After roughly 30 days, it will grow back in a random event at a random location away from artificial buildings. This can be used to move a tree from an inopportune location at the cost of mood.

Meditation mechanics

Meditating at an anima tree requires a Natural meditation focus. A pawn can only get this from their childhood background. Pawns do not need to have psylink levels to meditate. Place a meditation spot so that your colonists will actively meditate near the tree.

Multiple pawns can meditate at the same time to speed up the spawning of the anima grass. Anima trees provide the second-best additional meditation focus strength for Natural meditation, after animus stones.

Anima grass

Meditating near an anima tree creates anima grass. It takes 1 pawn meditating for approximately 5 in-game hours to grow one anima grass.

After 12 pawn-hours of meditation time, grass growth slows by 50%. After 24 pawn-hours of meditation time, it slows to 25%. Finally, it drops to 15% of the normal growth rate after 48 pawn-hours of meditation time. This counts all pawns that have meditated during a 24 hour period.

Once 20 grass has been grown, a level of psylink can be granted to a pawn with the Natural meditation focus type. The linking ritual takes approximately 5 hours. This ritual can grant a psylink to a pawn without one or improve the level of an existing psylink; even one granted using a psylink neuroformer or through an Empire bestowing ceremony.

Artificial buildings

Building an artificial building will reduce the meditation strength and anima grass growth rate. Each building reduces the rate by -1% to -5%. The maximum penalty from buildings is −30%. Torch lamps, campfires, roofing, and all flooring has no effect. Ruins also do not have any penalty so long as the ruins remain unclaimed; claiming the ruins will cause them to apply the usual penalty.

Animus stones and both large and small nature shrines are not considered artificial, and instead increase focus strength.

Selecting the tree displays two circles around the tree:

• The smaller, green circle is the range at which animus stones and nature shrines can link to the tree.
• The larger, red circle indicates where artificial structures will disrupt the tree. The "Build radius warning" option, turned on by default, will create a red line whenever you try and place a building.

Analysis

Building

There are two philosphies for building near the anima tree:

• Leaving the anima tree clear from artifical structures. Install attractive floors and plant flowers (where grass won't spawn) to keep the area beautiful. A bed and dining room just outside of the radius can help lower travel time - especially if you dedicate a colonist's entire day to meditation.
• Creating your entire base near the anima tree. This makes the travel time much shorter, and keeps your pawns safer again raids during meditation. In biomes where the Beavers! event can happen (arid shrubland, tundra), it also keeps the tree safe. The decrease in travel time can make up for the -30% penalty, especially if multiple pawns are able to meditate.
  • Make sure not to build a roof or floor over the tree, or where grass can spawn. Use the remove roof area tool in the Zoning tab so that your builders don't cut down the tree.

Schedule

• For maximum growth, set 1 or more colonists to just meditation, only stopping to eat or sleep. This also reduces travel time, useful if you have built away from the anima tree.
• If the anima tree is very nearby, then you can schedule meditation like Recreation. Meditation does fill up the recreation meter, even if colonists will get bored of it. If a large portion of colonists are set to meditation, then you will quickly hit the limit for grass growth.

While psycasters do not create anima grass any faster, meditation in general increases their psyfocus while growing grass.

Version history

• 1.1.2647 - Added.
• 1.1.2654 - Regrowth check cycle: 40 days -> 30 days. Added warning message when designating an anima tree for cutting and using it to give a psychically dull or deaf pawn psylink. Now sends a letter when enough anima grass is available for linking.
• 1.2.2719 - Anima trees are enhanced by nearby animus stones. Will no longer be destroyed by meteors, crashed ship parts, or shuttles. Anima grass progress rate now reduces after they're heavily used within a single day. All Psylink levels now take 20 anima grass instead of 18 for levels 1 and 2, 20 for 3 and 4, and 22 for 5 and 6. Soften anima tree glow. Remove anima grass glow.
• 1.3.3067 - Added anima grass growth rate from meditation penalty to anima tree based on proximity to artificial buildings.
• 1.3.3074 - Prevent thrumbos from eating anima trees.
• 1.3.3087 - Description updated.

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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 )