Strangleroot

In the shallowest parts of the Darklands, roots sometimes break through cavern ceilings, dangling from above like living stalactites. The most deep-seated of these roots belong to carnivorous trees that draw sustenance not only from the soil, but from the blood of the creatures that wander beneath them. When people on the surface encounter a tree whose leaves are an out-of-season autumnal red, they're likely unaware that, somewhere deep underground, the tree's roots have snared a hapless Darklands creature and are draining its blood.

Darklands inhabitants who live beneath strangleroot forests learn to keep their eyes on the ceiling, where strangleroot taproots lurk. They also watch for desiccated corpses, either strewn about the floor or suspended from the ceiling by hanging roots.

Slow Digestion

Strangleroots might strike with lightning speed, but they have the patience of a slow-growing tree. Once they have a victim trussed up tight, they rarely drain all its blood at once; rather, they do so over the course of hours or days. They accelerate their feeding only to kill a troublesome captive or to engorge themselves, lacing their meal's blood with a poisonous sap as a deterrent against hostile creatures.