A Talosian singing plant.
A Talosian singing plant, or windsinger, was an unusual plant species native to Talos IV that produced chime-like vibrations when jostled by air currents.
Biology[]
Broad, blue-metallic leaves floated atop long, narrow stems. Micro-serrations on leaf surfaces interacted with flowing air to generate pleasing harmonic resonances. Together, a group of the plants could produce a harmony of sounds. However, clashing acoustics could result if windsingers grew too close or too far apart.
History[]
One hundred thousand years ago, Talosians planted windsingers on dozens of planets during their era of space travel. Early Federation explorers encountered them often enough to expect hearing the sound on newly visited worlds, but unknowingly spread a plague that decimated the species. (SCE eBook: Aftermath)
In the year 2254, a landing party from the Federation starship USS Enterprise saw several growths of singing plants while visiting Talos IV. Lieutenant Spock in particular found them intriguing. (TOS episodes: "The Cage", "The Menagerie")
In 2257, Michael Burnham was similarly pleased by the sounds they made. (DSC episode: "If Memory Serves")
By the 24th century, they were rarely encountered. Several were planted on the grounds of Starfleet Academy on Earth, cared for by groundskeeper Liam Boothby. By the 2370s, Keiko O'Brien was curious about a project underway to develop a hardier windsinger cultivar. (SCE eBook: Aftermath)
Alternate realities[]
In an iteration of the mirror universe, Emperor Philippa Georgiou destroyed the Talosian civilization and its singing plants, calling the vegetation "stupid". (DSC episode: "If Memory Serves")
In an alternate timeline, Boothby's Talosian singing plants were obtained from the Betazoid expedition to Talos IV in 2355, and were considered extremely rare. Eleven years later, Boothby warned FNS reporter Marta Jensen to keep away from a patch of them. (ST - Myriad Universes - Shattered Light novella: Honor in the Night)
Appendices[]
Appearances and references[]
Appearances[]
- TOS episodes: "The Cage", "The Menagerie"
- SCE eBook: Aftermath
- DSC episode: "If Memory Serves"
- ST - Myriad Universes - Shattered Light novella: Honor in the Night
References[]
External links[]
- Talosian singing plant article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.