Bulbasaur #001
Ivysaur #002
Venusaur #003
A bulb is a short stem surrounded by fleshy leaf bases (Bell 1997). The bulb serves as a nutrient storage organ during the dormancy stage of a plant’s life cycle. A bulb does not support leaves. Rather, the purpose of the bulb is to store food reserves for survival.
The bottom of the bulb is the area of root growth. Roots allow the bulb to plant itself and absorb nutrients.
The base is a reduced stem and the point of vegetative growth as well as the area where an “unexpanded flowering shoot” (The Arboretum) appears.
Bulbous plants go through a cycle of vegetative and reproductive growth.
During the vegetative phase, the bulb accumulates energy until it is flowering size. A foliage period allows for the absorption of nutrients and sunlight.
Flowering occurs during the reproductive phase for the purpose of pollination. The plant may attract insects with scent or visual cues. The insects then carry pollen to other flowers, creating seeds.
The environment determines when a bulb flowers. A temperature shift may induce an epigenetic modification where the structure of the chromatin is altered, allowing for alternate gene expression.
Longitudinal section through bulb
Amada44 derivative work: Peter coxhead (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Hippeastrum (amaryllis) bulb
M. Rehemtulla (CC BY 2.0)
Haemanthus coccineus (the blood flower)
Peter coxhead (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Titan arum stages
Venusaur’s flower provides the animal energy from the sun via photosynthesis (a sunlight-catalyzed reaction involving carbon dioxide and water producing sugar and oxygen). This relationship goes beyond mutualism, which involves two separate species. The plant and animal in this case have coevolved over time, forming a single species.
Pokémon Yellow Pokédex: It can go for days without eating a single morsel. In the bulb on its back, it stores energy.
The animal portion of the Bulbasaur lineage is heterotrophic; it is unable to produce its own energy, and so it must consume food.
The top portion is autotrophic; the plant produces its own food.
Colorado River toad (Bufo alvarius)
Wildfeuer (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Venusaur may also draw inspiration from the Sonoran Desert toad, a species native to northwestern Mexico and southwestern United States. The toad secretes psychoactive toxins.
In first generation, Venusaur is a potent Toxic user as the poison effect is amplified by Leech Seed, and the absorption effect of Leech Seed is amplified by Toxic.
Bell, A.D. 1997. Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.