Thanks surveyman, I have used this method before. The only difference I see is that I Duplicated rather than Past and Copy, which does work better for alignment.  

 

I also find that working with a sphere is much more difficult than working with a multi-branched object. 

 

My original idea was to add parasitic plants to other plants, just as orchids attach themselves to trees. The other idea I wanted to explore was one where moss and other materials populate dead trees or trunks that were still standing rather than using displacement materials. 

 

Using multiple transparent objects and creating a difference ecosystem for each is not a problem, but as mentioned before it is very time consuming and once your objects are aligned it is difficult to make changes without knocking something askew. 

 

The image I have included is one example, a little over stated, but you get the idea. This idea is from a swamp environment or a rain forest where parasitic plants take root on trees. If you look close you can see many of the mushrooms are hanging out in the air, one of the problems you encounter with this technique.  

 

Careful GP you can driver yourself crazy with all of this math stuff!!! I know I have, especially hard on me since I flunked Algebra and Geometry.

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