Rock Cactus

A small cluster of spherical rocklike plants that are found wherever water is rare, these cacti are a sandy brown in color and no more than a foot across.

Tactics
A rock cactus detects the approach of prey with its plant senses and waits until a target draws to within 2 feet of the cactus. It then rapidly extends its powerfully muscled spines, stabbing with these at its prey.

Description
The most common form of rock cactus is a plant that survives by attaching itself to other living creatures and draining the moisture from them through its spines. It lives in clusters near game or caravan trails and attacks when prey draws near. The rock cactus exudes pheromones that, while undetectable to most humans and humanoids, are compellingly attractive to many rodents and mammals.

The rock cactus is edible if peeled, having a taste and texture similar to apples, and a single plant will yield up to a pound of flesh and 4 pints of fluid. The plants can be safely harvested by tricking them into attacking a dummy target and then snapping their spines before they have a chance to retract them. Live rock cacti will fetch as much as 5 Cp in most markets, but the flesh of a single cactus is only worth a ceramic or two.

Generally a foot across and weighing three pounds, a rock cactus will double in size and weight as it feeds. As it swells with moisture, the cactus will darken in color, eventually becoming black. During Sun Ascending and the first months of High Sun rock cacti are in flower and produce a bright yellow bloom that lasts for only a few hours.