Plant-person

The Plant-people are a sapient species of small, fairy-like aquatic plant-creatures from Venus. They have a friendly and peaceful disposition, and are preyed upon by the native "Kelp-things"; which they refer to simply as "the Others".

Biology
Plant-people are vaguely humanoid creatures and communicate by telepathy. Although they don't have any Human-like features; they are described as beautiful, and the females are recognizably feminine-looking. As aquatic flora, they seem to combine aspects of both seaweed and flowers.

Members of this species stand between 3 and 4 feet in height (91.44 to 121.92 cm), with slender bodies and color-changing skin, which is blueish-gray when they're sad or stressed, but glows brighter when they're happy.

Their limbs are fin-like, terminating in "thin flat swimming-webs" rather than fingers; and are united by wing-like fluttering membranes. Their legs are equipped with suckers, located where their heels would be, if they had feet. Their faces are pixie-like, dominated by large round golden eyes with deep-brown pupils, and almost without noses. Around their heads there is a series of color-changing retractable petals, which are also indicative of their emotional state, as they're always retracted when the beings are stressed or sad.

Plant-people reproduce with seeds, and the young ones grow in riverbeds like ordinary aquatic plants, before maturing into their mobile stage. Adults practice parental care by watching over the aquatic seed beds and gardens, and teaching the young ones how to swim as soon as they become mobile.

Appearances

 * "Terror Out of Space", by Leigh Brackett (1944)