Plant crops
A number of species of plants are cultivated, or wild harvested, across Kalderesh. Plant-based products are used for consumption (human food, animal fodder), production (e.g. ropes, textiles), and recreation (e.g. wine). The primary plants, and their uses, are summarised in the table below.
Table: Summary of plant crops and their uses
| plant | plant type | food? | medicinal? | recreational? | animal food? | other uses | process | notes | cultivation notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| barley | grass | (yes) | — | — | yes | — | — | good horse feed | — |
| beach rice | aquatic (salt) | yes | — | — | — | — | dried | long lasting | only grows wild, cannot be cultivated |
| beans | herbacious | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | long lasting | modest water requirements; needs trellis |
| beetroot | tuber | yes | — | — | (yes) | — | — | sweetener | — |
| camworte | tuber | yes | — | — | — | iron rations | dried & milled | natural preservative | — |
| cotton | herbacious | — | — | — | — | clothing | spun & woven | — | — |
| cotton, brown | herbacious | — | — | — | — | clothing | spun & woven | waterproof | — |
| duckbell | aquatic (fresh) | yes | — | — | — | — | — | withers quickly | fast growing |
| falsifal | aquatic (fresh) | — | — | — | — | ship building | — | waterproof | few suitable locations |
| flax (plant) | herbacious | — | — | — | (yes) | clothing | dried, spun & woven | — | — |
| flax (seed) | herbacious | — | — | — | — | lighting | pressed | gives very bright light | — |
| flax, wild (plant) | herbacious | — | — | — | — | sails, roofing | dried, spun & woven | high tensile strength | — |
| fruit | tree | yes | — | — | — | — | fresh or dried | — | — |
| grimble | grass | — | — | — | yes | — | — | good horse and livestock feed | — |
| harfy | herbacious | yes | — | — | (yes) | — | — | highly nutritious | needs lots of water |
| hempen | herbacious | — | — | — | — | clothing | dried, spun & woven | durable | fast growing |
| hobsonia lily | herbacious | — | — | — | — | clothing | special | waterproof cloth | select locations; marshy conditions |
| hops, petals | herbacious | — | — | — | — | food preservation | — | — | — |
| hops, roots | herbacious | — | wound curing | beer making | — | — | crushed | — | — |
| kelp | aquatic (salt) | yes | — | — | — | — | dried (reconstituted) | long lasting | needs fast-moving current |
| leather leaf | herbacious | — | — | — | — | rope making | braided | strong, flexible | only grows wild, cannot be cultivated |
| lily silk | aquatic (fresh) | — | — | — | — | clothing | spun & woven | antibacterial, fire resistant | very deep, stagnant water |
| limeferns | herbacious | — | — | — | — | fertilizer | — | — | grows only near fresh water |
| malmberries | berry | yes | — | dapson wine | — | — | fermented | — | very swampy ground |
| milkworte | tuber | yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| millweed | herbacious | — | — | smoked | — | — | dried & shredded | — | — |
| murkberries | berry | — | — | murwine | — | — | fermented | — | swampy ground |
| mushrooms | fungi | yes | (yes) | (yes) | (yes) | — | can be dried | long lasting if dried | moist and dark conditions |
| nirkil beans | herbacious | — | — | nirkil wine | — | dye | fermented or crushed | — | fussy grower |
| nuts | tree | yes | — | — | — | — | fresh or roasted | long lasting | — |
| ocean melon | aquatic (salt) | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | highly nutritious | shallow water |
| olive groves | tree | yes | — | — | yes | lighting | pressed | — | hardy; slow growing |
| potatoes | tuber | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | — | grows easily in poor soil; modest water |
| resiyen | aquatic (fresh) | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | rehidration | to be harvested at critical time |
| rice | grass | yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | easy grower in certain regions only |
| river lichen | aquatic (fresh) | yes | — | — | — | flavour enhancer | dried & ground | — | needs moving water |
| rock sugar | lichen | yes | — | — | — | — | — | sweetener | — |
| sand nuts | tuber | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | — | sandy soil/beaches only |
| sea root | aquatic (salt) | yes | — | — | — | — | fresh or pickled | — | needs sandy soil |
| silkweed | aquatic (fresh) | yes | — | stimulant | — | — | dried, shredded & infused | — | select locations; best deep underwater |
| simper reed | grass | — | — | — | — | water purifier | boiled | — | swamps and marshes |
| siphon | grass | — | — | — | — | roofing | — | — | grows best in dry conditions |
| sugar weed | aquatic (salt) | yes | — | — | (yes) | — | dried | nutrition and sweetener | — |
| swamp rice | aquatic (fresh) | yes | — | — | — | — | dried | long lasting | only grows wild, cannot be cultivated |
| umber coffee | tree | yes | — | stimulant | — | — | dried, ground & infused | — | water-logged/swampy soil |
| urvine (berry flesh) | herbacious | yes | — | — | — | — | flash boiled & skinned | — | grows well in poor soil |
| urvine (berry skins) | herbacious | — | — | — | — | tanning; alchemy | crushed & fermented | — | grows well in poor soil |
| vegetables | herbacious | yes | — | — | yes | — | — | — | — |
| wheat | grass | yes | — | — | yes | — | milled | — | — |
Description of plant crops and their uses
staple fruit and vegetables: apples, plums, peaches, pears, and grapes; potatoes, onions, beans, beetroot, and harfy.
barley: a grassy cereal grain. Uses: feed for horses (primary), fermented as beer (secondary), human consumption in stews, soups, and bread (tertiary).
beans: one of a number of types of flowering, climbing plants which grow vine-like and thus requiring trellised support. The seeds of the bean plant mature and dry, forming an ideal food crop. Beans are nutritious and versatile, and are used for human and livestock feed. When fully dried, they keep well. They require modest levels of watering, but they mature at different rates and require trellising and are thus labour-intensive to cultivate. A number of varieties exist.
beetroot: a tuber, purple in colour, with reddish woody stems and broad leaves. Uses: Human consumption in stews, soups, etc. Stems and leaves used as animal fodder. Red beet have red tubers and a high sugar content. Used as a source of sweetener.
camworte: a tuber, with tall stringy stems and broad leaves. Can be dried and does not spoil; is commonly used in making dry rations for military use.
cotton: a medium-sized shrub with dark green leaves, sprouting low-wax cellulose fibrous balls around its seeds. The balls are collected, spun into yarn and woven into a soft durable textile. Most clothing is made of cotton. The brown cotton variety, more difficult to cultivate, has a much higher wax content and produces a naturally waterproof textile.
duckbell: a freshwater aquatic plant, forming clusters of small floating spherical plants bodies. Fast growing. Used primarily for human consumption. Does not preserve well and needs to be kept hydrated once gathered.
falsifal: a medium-sized semi-aquatic tree, up to 60 feet in length, that grows in swamps. The main woody body is totally submerged. A spreading canopy of branches, densely covered with small leaves, stands above water. The wood is exceptionally resistant to salt water, and is potentially useful in ship building.
flax: flowering plant grown primarily for its fibres, but sometimes used for animal fodder. The fibres are dried and spun, and made into textiles. The seeds are crushed and oils extracted. Flax oil burns very brightly and is highly sought after as illumination. Wild flax has hardier fibres and can be woven into high-tensile strands, ideal for weaving sails and tarpaulins. Sometimes used as durable roofing.
grimble: a type of fleshy grass much favoured by horses and small livestock.
harfy: a type of pumpkin, growing as an herbaceous vine with fruit bodies varying in size between 10- and 60-cm diameter. Widely used for human consumption (primary) and animal fodder (secondary). High yield and nutritious but requires good water supply.
hempen: a fast-growing flowering plant with tagic leaves, grown for its flexible fibres. The fibres are dried and spun, and made into durable textiles. Several varieties exist.
hobsonia lily: one of many herbaceous flowering plants, growing from bulbs, with large prominent flowers. It grows only in specific marshy regions and cultivation elsewhere has not been possible. The leaves of the hobsonia are water-repellent and are used in the production of footwear and other niche clothing items.
hops : a flowering plant, with a stem and leaf that much resembles the grape vine plant. The flower petals are used as a preservative (for meat, fruit, and other perishables). The roots are used in making beer. Rarely, it is compounded into a balm to treat wounds.
kelp: a saltwater aquatic seaweed, growing in fast-moving currents. Fronds can be up to 10 metres long. Gas-filled bladders keep the fronds near the surface of the water. Gathered all-year round, kelp is primarily a human food source. It dries well and lasts for a long time; is easily reconstituted.
leather leaf: tall (up to 2m) fibrous plant, propagating in summer through runners. Grows naturally, not susceptible to regular cultivation practices. Strong flexible fibres are ideal for rope making. Not palatable to man nor beast.
lily silk: an aquatic rhizomatous plant that grows in very deep stagnant water. The rhizomes propagate during Full Moon. Each plant body has four stems, each bearing two leaves. When the leaves mature they turn a deep yellow colour. The stems, if harvested at this time, provide a soft, pliable but strong fibre, which is spun into a yarn. Light-weight, fire-resistant and anti-bacterial, the yarn is woven into cloth. Lily cloth is the most expensive fabric in Kalderesh; it is sometimes inter-spun with gold threads for very opulent uses.
limeferns: one of a number of vascular plants that reproduce via spores. They grow rapidly when near water, such as along river banks and lake shores. They make excellent fertilizer and are used to make poor soil suitable for crop growth.
malmberries: dark purple berries, growing on thorny low-growing bushes in very swampy ground. Eaten dried, or fermented into dapson wine.
milkworte: a tuber, yellowish in colour, with short stems and broad leaves. Uses: Human consumption, as a milk-coloured broth when boiled, or made into stews, soups, etc.
millweed: An herbaceous low-growing shrub with sturdy lemniscate leaves and small bright red clusters of flowers. When the plant matures, the leaves turn golden brown and fray. Eventually, each leaf turns into a tufted fibrous mass. These fibres contain high amounts of merdite, a mildly psychoactive substance released when burnt. Millweed smoke is usually inhaled using a pipe. Alternately, is it burnt in a censer, often during Qidranian ceremonies.
murkberries: red, grape-sized berries, growing in clusters of seven, on hairy shrubs deeply rooted into marshy ground. Not edible. Fermented into murwine.
mushrooms: a fungus, growing above ground, or on a woody substrate. Many varieties exist, some unique to specific forests. High water content. Can be dried; preserves well. Some are psychoactive. Red mushrooms grow along certain river courses and are highly nutritious.
nirkil beans: a type of bean, sometimes called a bush bean, that does not require trellised support. The beans, which are the seeds of the plant, mature at the same time so can be harvested during a single session. Nirkil plants are somewhat fussy and only grow well under certain conditions. The beans can be fermented to produce nirkil wine, or processed to make a matte black dye.
nuts: fruits of several species of low-growing trees, consisting of a tough shell and edible kernel. Rich in oils. Long-lasting once picked. Roasting increases longevity tremendously.
ocean melon: a saltwater aquatic plant that grows in the shallows. Has a distributed root system that absorbs nutrition over a wide area, up to 120 feet across. Each plant sprouts a central cluster of round, dense fruiting bodies, up to 20-cm in length and egg-shaped. The fruit are nutritious and high in mineral content.
olive: a small tree, hardy but slow growing. Bears green or purple fruit, from which a stable, long-lasting oil is extracted in a press. It is used primarily for lighting. The fruit is sometimes used for human and animal consumption.
potatoes: herbaceous perennials that grow about 50-cm high. Its starchy tuber is a staple human food. Easy to cultivate, requiring modest water. Thrives in even poor soil, although this slows the growth rate.
resiyen: a semi-aquatic freshwater shrub that produces clusters of succulent fruit bodies, up to 5-cm in length, resembling small cucumbers. If picked at the right time, forms a waxy shell preventing desiccation, making resiyen a desirable rehydration option. If picked too early or too late, the fruit are used as a high-quality animal fodder.
rice: the seeds of a prolific grass species, a staple cereal grain across Kalderesh, although it only grows well in certain regions. Once the seeds are removed from the slender stalks, they can be stored for long periods. The two most common varieties are known locally as bush rice and willow rice. They grow at slightly different times and in different soils. Note that beach rice and swamp rice are not a related plant. Beach rice and swamp rice are varieties of aquatic plant (salt and freshwater, respectively) that produce round seeds which, when dried, are a staple and long-lasting food source for humans. They grow easily but are difficult to cultivate, hence are usually wild-sown and laboriously gathered.
river lichen: a low-growing water-loving plant, growing on most surfaces that are regularly irrigated, such as rocks in rivers. If submerged for long periods, however, it melts. The river lichen is dried and ground into a fine flavour-enhancing condiment, widely used, typically in conjunction with salt.
rock sugar: a lichenous plant, growing on sun-facing exposed rocks. Young plants are grey to pale blue in colour; in this form, they are mildly toxic. Mature plants are reddish brown in colour, with encysted sugar crystals. The lichen are collected and the sugar crystals extracted. Rock sugar is a popular but expensive sweetener.
sand nuts: small tubers with a thick brown protective skin, growing in clusters from a single short thick stem. Leaves spread in circular arrangements. Requires sandy soil; even grows on beaches. Staple human food, particularly where potatoes do not flourish.
sea root: an aquatic saltwater tuber, orange in colour when mature, with frond-like leaves. It grows readily in a sandy substrate. The tubers are used in stews and are high in fibre and vitamins. They are often pickled and used as staples for long oceanic voyages, preventing thorbosis in sailors.
silkweed: Also known as peated silkweed. Aquatic fresh-water plant consisting of slender strands, interwoven into long braided masses. Capable of surviving partially submerged. The deeper underwater the silkweed grows, the more dense the braided strands develop. When dried, the saffron-looking strands make a refreshing infusion. The deeper underwater the plant grew, the richer and more piquant the flavour. Silkweed only grows in a few regions of the Pai Wetlands.
simper reed: a restio-like grass, growing in swamps and marshes. Once cut and boiled, is used as water purifier.
siphon: a restio-like rhizomatous, herbaceous plant, with green stems and no leaves. Well adapted to dry conditions. Ideal for thatching of roofs.
sugar weed: an aquatic saltwater seaweed, consisting of greenish-yellow hairy strands. The strands contain sections of tubules in which dissolved sugars collect. When dried, the strands are used as a fibrous nutritional supplement, while the reclaimed sugar is used as a sweetener.
umber coffee: the fruit of the umber tree, a large bush that grows in swampy or water-logged soil. When the beans turn dark brown they are harvested and dried. When ground and brewed, they produce the finest coffee.
urvine: a low-growing mildly toxic flowering plant that does well in poor soil. It is an important plant with several industrial uses. Urvine has hexoid leaves sprouting from relatively thin stalks, which in turn grow from a remarkably thick woody stem. In spring, clusters of small brown pulpy fruit form, and as these ripen, the leaves drop off. In their natural state, these fruit bodies grow until they droop and touch the ground. Once on the ground, the fruit split open and rapidly dissolve, leaching into the ground. It was discovered that by encouraging the plant to grow on a slanted trellis, the fruit do not self-decay and grow larger, making an excellent crop. The high mineral and vitamin content make it a sought-after dietary supplement. Once picked, the urvine berries need to be processed quickly to prevent spoiling. Typically they are flash-boiled and the skins removed. The berry skins are mildly toxic and are sometimes used in alchemical preparations. Their most important use, however, is to tan leather. The fresh berries are crushed, most of the flesh removed, and the skins left to ferment. The resulting liquid has an indefinite shelf life, and is used to tan leather, preserve furs, and fortify and treat falsifal.
wheat: a grassy cereal grain. Several varieties exist, include brine wheat, cow wheat, and parse wheat. All have similar properties and uses; their soil and nutrient requirements are, however, different. Highly nutritious and versatile. Used about equally often for human and animal consumption.