Saplings need to say what type of tree they grow, I mean most the unique ones look different but still, it's hard to tell some like which trees are the ones that drop green bio samples.
I don't consider myself much of an arborist but whenever I find a particularly appealing tree I place the sapling in a laboratory locker and make a sign for it. I only have done this for three types of trees but am still considering to devote a room to it on my ship.
The sapling icons in your inventory are all combinations of the bark and foliar types, complete with colour. Yes, they're pretty small and hard to see, but the info is still there. Maybe we just need a guide for all tree types on the wiki? As for the mouseover, it'd be nice to see those icons bigger, but I can see how that might be a logistical hurdle, shouldn't be impossible though yeah
For now, until they (hopefully) add better descriptions for the saplings, I have taken to putting a sample of what the tree produces (i.e., coconuts, toxic waste, etc.) alongside the stack of saplings in a storage container next to my garden. Sadly, I still haven't found one that produces biosamples
I don't understand the need for a tree that produces biosamples when I can do a marathon across a jungle planet swinging my shortswords the entire way, cutting down every bush in my path and accumulating a fine collection of plant fibre and biosamples. Although, I actually hadn't yet noticed that some trees even dropped the stuff, so perhaps I was performing bush genocide for no good reason.
Do the bushes respawn/regrow after a while? That's my main concern with finding a renewable resource for the biosamples. Once I've cut down all the bushes on a planet, I've used up all the resource and have to go find another planet to 'harvest'. If I can find the trees that drop it, I can just replant as I go merrily chopping along (or even just take the saplings back to my home world and plant there) and can come back at another time for more guaranteed biosamples. I came across one planet that had those trees, but that was before I started thinking about keeping track of coordinates and collecting saplings for future use <sad face>.
Isn't there more than enough jungle planets scattered through the radioactive star systems for you to just jump from planet to planet? I've never found much reason to stick to one planet for long besides for building a home base. To answer your question, though, I don't think the bushes actually respawn, unfortunately.
There *are* tons of Jungle planets out there, but I guess I'm spoiled and like the lazy convenience of being able to plant a long row of trees and then mow them down just to start all over with the planting, heh. I'd be able to get wood, plant fiber and biosamples all from one source, which is a pretty cool thing, all without having to stop and pop off little hostile beasties along the way. I do like to explore, but I guess I don't always want to have to look for a Jungle planet when I need biosamples. At my current home base, I've got a rather large garden growing the items I need to make certain complex foods, so I return there every so often to harvest when my supplies are getting low. It's just a convenience, that's all. I'm kinda weird in that I want to go out and explore everything, but yet I also want a cozy homestead to return to at the end of the day (or week, depending on where my adventures take me and how long it takes me to get through them!), where I can do a little gardening and do a little fussing over interior/exterior decorating. Dang it! I want to have my cake *and* eat it, too! Also, to be honest (I'm admitting this with much guilt), I know it's silly, but I also think about planetary conservation, heh >.> I always try to replant a few of the trees that I'm harvesting so that I don't leave a world totally bereft.... I realize that's not something that we have to worry about in this digital sandbox, but I think about it anyway. There! I admitted it! Just please don't call the paddywagon on me <guilty face>
As an environmental biologist I totally do this too. I adhere to the wildcrafting rule of only taking 10% of any one plant type. And I usually try to not harvest close to the spawn point, but that's for the sole reason that if I come back to the planet later looking for something that there will still be some plants left to take and the jump time isn't completely wasted. I'd love to see undergrowth, plants and trees regrow on planets naturally though.
Yesh! I'd love to see regrowth, too! Not just of the things that I replant myself, but of the ungergrowth, too. I know, I know, this is *just* a game, but I like to pretend