As if the crabgrass learned how to mimic the lichen's carbophilia, Jayani thought.
The greenery spread and crawled out onto the desert floor. A lichen sprout was devoured in seconds, the crabgrass twining itself up the colorful stalk from multiple directions and covering it completely.
It'll take over everything! she thought.
They examined a patch of ivy nearby, where shoots of crabgrass had begun to penetrate. The crabgrass roots sank into soil but did not attach to the ivy itself. Further, the crabgrass appeared to slow as it reached other areas already anchored adequately by the Terran flora, leaving the aguayo cactus and avocado trees untouched.
Already the crabgrass had colonized several feet of ground beyond the periphery and was growing outward at the rate of inches per second.
