Tarsyu

The Tar­syu is a giant, flowe­ring plant with sta­mens that enable Na’vi of the Saren­tu clan to com­mu­ne with the memo­ries of ances­tors within Eywa via their neu­ral link. In this way, it ser­ves the same pur­po­se as wil­low trees. Each adult Tar­syu is for­med of a ten­dri­lous root base that sup­ports a sin­gle flowe­ring head. At rest, this flower head resem­bles a giant leaf-cover­ed pod in which the cup-shaped flower of the Tar­syu is tight­ly enc­lo­sed and pro­tec­ted by thick, lan­ceo­la­te lea­ves. In the pre­sence of the Saren­tu, the pod opens, reve­al­ing the vast and bright­ly colo­red flower within. Bran­ches, petals, and sepals spay out­ward and the soft, neu­ro-con­nec­ting sta­mens are acces­si­ble. 

Imma­tu­re Tar­syu sap­lings are smal­ler, and simi­lar­ly for­med. They too open in the pre­sence of Saren­tu but have only deve­lo­ped a sin­gle neu­ro-con­nec­ting sta­men in the flower cen­ter. The Tar­syu’s life cycle appears to be direct­ly lin­ked to Saren­tu activity.