Flora in the Space Stage
Flora, also known as plants, are a type of organic object which exists in the Spore franchise as a food source for herbivores and omnivores. Flora is distinguished into 3 categories: shrub, small tree, and tall tree.
Spore
Cell Stage
In the Cell Stage, plant matter and seaweed, are used as food for cells with Filter Mouth and Proboscis. Cells with the Jaw mouth are unable to consume it.
Creature Stage
In the Creature Stage, shrubs and small trees produce fruits that can be eaten by omnivores or herbivores. There are sometimes pieces of rotting fruit. Tall trees have no purpose.
Tribal Stage
In the Tribal Stage, like in the Creature Stage, shrubs and small trees produces fruit that omnivorous or herbivorous tribes can pick fruit from them. Other tribes often have fruit in their food piles.
Civilization Stage
In the Civilization Stage, flora plays no important role other than decorating the Homeworld.
Space Stage
In the Space Stage, however, flora are essential for terraforming. There are three different types of flora: shrubs, small trees, and tall trees. Every planet can have three of each if fully terraformed to T3. Each T-score level requires one more of each of the three kinds of flora, plus two herbivores and a carnivore/omnivore. Some empires will offer the player missions to retrieve flora.
Galactic Adventures
Floras are used as decorative props in adventures. There are two types of flora, flora that is in the "Fixed Object" category, and floras that are procedurally generated by the game in the "Flora" section in the Terraforming menu. The way Flora are generated in the "Flora" Terraforming menu is very much like (or most likely the same) how they are generated on planets. Like T-3 planets, the Terraforming Menu only will support only three plants in the three categories. Floras as props do not need to be in the "Flora" Terraforming menu to be used as a prop. They can be interacted with goals, unlike other flora.
Trivia
- The Flora Editor was intended to be included in Spore, but was ultimately cut, and made unplayable without the use of hacks.
- There is a known glitch in the Space Stage where if you aim the abduction beam towards the sky and keep the plant in the air long enough, it gets bigger. When you set it down on the planet's surface, the plant will be much larger than the rest surrounding it. This has no effect on the game itself but can be quite amusing.