Xurkitree sprouts are known as Xurkabl, bearing only three short tentacles. When a feathery seed lands in suitable soil, it blooms into a bundle of triangular petals which solidify into the shell of the head. Once the vital organs inside the head have taken shape, the copper roots that draw nutrients from the ground begin to coil into proper limbs and grow their rubber skin. They uproot themselves when sufficiently grown and begin to slither around and explore their environment.
Xurkabl is intensely curious, sometimes too curious for its own safety. It will crawl into caves and tunnels it can't escape, scale precarious heights from which it can't climb down, or even walk right up to predators. To keep them safe, Xurkitree will often carry them around or supervise them from a distance. Xurkabl like to coil around the arms and legs of Xurkitree that watch over them. They are raised communally, with a mostly hands-off approach. Xurkabl receive most of their socialization from each other and form bonds with their fellow Xurkabl, often not truly bonding with Xurkitree until they themselves evolve. A Xurkitree carrying a Xurkabl will continue to interact with its peers, ignoring the Xurkabl and letting it do as it please when conditions are safe.
At rest, Xurkabl gather into colonies and root themselves. These gatherings are called "meadows". When rooted in a meadow, Xurkabl will communicate with light from their bulbs and electrical signals through their roots. They can coordinate their lights to create patterns, seemingly for fun, and they can scare off predators by combining all their brightest flashes to blind them.