Loreyu (helicoradian)
From the Early Pandora Wiki Canon Na'vi legend Real world
The loreyu (Na'vi for "beautiful spiral"), called the helicoradian in English, is one of the best-known plants on Pandora. It appears in the first Avatar film, when Jake touches a cluster and they all spin down into the ground. Canon
What the films and guides say
- It is a zooplantae: a living thing that is part plant and part animal. Canon
- It has one big spiral leaf, usually bright orange. Canon
- When touched, it coils up and pulls itself down into the ground, hiding from animals that might eat it. Canon
- It grows in groups, so one curling up sets off its neighbours one after another, like dominoes. Canon
- The Na'vi can walk among them without triggering them. If loreyu suddenly start curling up, the Na'vi know danger is near. Canon
- The Na'vi use the leaves for robes, clothes, tents and bags. Canon
In legend
The Na'vi legend says the loreyu descends from the Taktswìkyu. After the Great Hunger, Ninat found one tiny sprout grown from the last seed. It grew a single spiral leaf and ate only what it needed. When she touched it, it curled up and hid, remembering the hungry time. Ninat named it loreyu so no one would think it greedy. Na'vi legend
| Taktswìkyu (long ago) | Loreyu (today) | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | About 30 feet tall | Small enough to fit along a riverbank |
| Leaf | One giant rolled-up trumpet | One spiral leaf |
| Food | Ducks, and lots of them | Sunlight, rain and a few tiny bugs |
| When touched | Bent and swayed, but never hid | Curls up and hides |
| Attitude | Always hungry, took too much | Careful, takes only what it needs |
Its Earth cousin
Real Earth plants can sense touch too. The sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica, folds its leaves when poked. The loreyu's reaction is a much bigger, more dramatic version. You can grow one from a garden store! Real world