Scatterbrush was probably the best lesson settlers on Laysan Prime could ask for about the importance of proper interstellar quarantine protocols. Growing from microscopic spore analogs, scatterbrush was easy enough to spread, with each plant putting billions of them out during its life. But while the acidic crucible of Demitrius IV kept their population naturally in check, Laysan Prime’s sunny and nutrient-rich environment was a paradise.

So scatterbrush was constantly growing everywhere, from pavement cracks to private gardens. And it needed to be pulled up within the first week or so, and its burgeoning woody taproots clipped, or it would start its reproductive cycle. This involved uprooting itself and skittering about on those same taproots for a day or so until its reserves of energy were spent, shedding spores as it went. Thorns and an irritating secretion put off anyone who tried to tangle with motile scatterbrush.

This led, in due course, to the famous scatterbrush races, where gamblers would bet on which plant would uproot itself and cross a finish line first.

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