Puffers, also known as the puff daddy, are close relatives of the puffball tree, although it is a large shrub. They come from the same genus, along with the vein pod.
A puffer seen in the film
Under the fluffy pink covering are small globular balls that are quite sponge-like. However, almost as soon as they are produced they are covered by a pink colored fungus, growing in a symbiotic relationship with the puffer. The fungus absorbs atmospheric nitrogen and converts it into nitrate, which is then absorbed by the globular balls of the puffer. The plant obtains nitrate from the fungus in the form it needs for growth, while the fungus obtains carbohydrates from the plant for its own growth.
The fungus is quite delicious and is used by the Na'vi for food. They are careful not to harvest too much off one plant in order to avoid destroying the equilibrium between plant and fungus required to maintain the health of both.
Trivia[]
- The old Pandorapedia calls them the puff daddy, while Pandora ROVR, Avatar: The Game and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora use puffer. However, at one point in the Pandorapedia entry in The Game, it calls them the puff daddy. In the Avatar: Collector's Vault 3D, their card calls them the puffer while the book calls them the puff daddy.
- Despite their description claiming they have a pink covering, it is portrayed as a white color.
Source[]
- James Cameron's Avatar: The Game - Ingame Pandorapedia
|
See the image gallery for |