Glowing Flower - Tumblr Posts
I forgot to post these yesterday, so here’s the next batch!
Kanebomi Plant A tall, leafy plant found sparsely in places such as coastal Furheart Iiah, some islands near Warminia Songlianne, and the nooks between Laykia Layna and Amicaia on Wing Alayna. The Kanebomi is a delicious, somewhat savory fruit on par with the Spotil in popularity. It is often imported for cooking, and since it is so rare, is rarely enjoyed raw, even though some may argue it's just as good raw as it is cooked.
Sweetflutes Deep in the Great Buddy Forest, one may happen upon a number of colorful Sweetflutes growing. They are rather hard and glass-like, but when plucked and carved their sound is top-notch. Little maintenance is needed, but they are very hardy and may try to grow back, especially if left in a damp place or abandoned somewhere. They have been known to replant themselves if left on the ground a while, so replucking as well as recarving might be necessary for such a wayward Sweetflute.
Vin Vinia An odd little vine with even stranger fruits. They might go good in a salad, and dried they can be used to make string or thread. They can also be used to make green dyes. It is a fairly rare plant in Wing Alayna, found only in some parts of northwest coastal Amicaia as well as deep south near (and past) the border of Laykia Layna. It is fairly common in the Reline Ah archipelago, but only found deep inland in its southern counterpart, the Fuline Ah archipelago.
Oisha Lalan Though perhaps a somewhat ordinary appearance in the forest, the leaves of the Oisha Lalan are quite well-known for their use in brewing a most exquisite tea. The center of the leaf has a strange, sour, almost sweet taste, balanced by the dryness and slight bitterness of its frayed edges. The plant is rather prolific, such that its leaves are rarely in short supply. It can be found in both the Great Buddy and Pachimori Forests, as well as places in Fuline and Reline Ah.
Belia Lunala A fluorescent flower found in Crescent Minoria. In its bell grows an epiphytic Yelia Radiani flower which helps it convert lunar light into a kind of white liquid, which gathers in its bell. This liquid serves to amplify the energy of the lunar light enough to serve the needs of both flowers, while also looking like quite a sight. The white liquid, when stored, can be used to provide light for a long time, though it is not preferred for its bright white light so much as the softer illumination from regular Radiani blossoms or other luminescent flora. The petals also have a rather sour taste, and can add an interesting flavor to tea when brewed. Being so bright yellow also makes its rather unusual slight in Crescent Minoria, as many of its flowers instead have glassy or black petals, so it can also be used as a wayfinder in the dark.
Miniwingola Lifernandes A curious flora that grows in the cloud grounds of Caela Amicaia. It can also grow in soil, but may not sprout its characteristic pair of wing-like leaves there. As such, the wingless variety is usually called by a different first name, such as Thinfrond instead of Miniwingola. Either way, they are fragrant herbs that make a great addition or garnish to any dish. The taste varies depending on the species and where it goes. The sky variety may take on a flavor like rosemary or thyme, while the ground variety sage or even parsley in wetter climates.
Omu-omu Plantai A very long-leafed plant similar to a succulent. It is often kept like an outdoor houseplant, the long leaves being tied up so they don't run along the ground and risk being trampled. In the rainier months the leaves become more cocoon-like unless intervention is made, sealing them off from receiving too much water in the rainier months, as it prefers a more arid climate. The plant can be found in Amicaia, colloquially named The Buddys’ Land, or the northern half of Wing Alayna, and on the continent of Warminia Songlianne, particularly away from the coast where it can get lots of sun without too much moisture. It is thought to originate from the latter, or perhaps a less rainy place in Wing Alayna.
Bigleaf Mineep (a.k.a Okipla Mineep) A small flower with a singularly large leaf. It is said that the Mineep puts all its love and care into its leaf, and neglects its flower, resulting in its pale petals and overall wilty appearance. Okipla leaves are favored in leaf-boat making for their size, and are cultivated in the palace garden to help faster production, as Buddys are strangely inept at farming, preferring to seek and gather rather than create large agricultural areas (something about liking grass too much, who knows?) A single leaf can also be broken up and used for salad, though there are some who take pity on the beloved leaf and refuse to use it.
Seafaring Mamolia As the name implies, the Seafaring Mamolia is a strange little flower that grows in the ocean (some may also be found in lakes, but then they'd be lakefaring now wouldn't they?), protecting a tiny flower with its colorful, petal-like bracts. It has a large root-float system to help keep it upright, even in boisterous waves. Strangely enough, they have seldom been seen to wash ashore naturally, and even in rare cases, never run completely aground. Though some still may help a near-washed up Mamolia get back to sea, independent as others claim the flower to be. With its many roots, bundles of them are sometimes dried and used for ropes and strings. The bracts, usually already salted by the sea, can also make quite a nice snack when dried.
Lesser Cloudia Founta (a.k.a Miniature Skypalm) A small tree-plant with palm-like bark. It has very shiny, almost metallic leaves that can be used in the creation of decorative armors, or else just as decoration. It will only grow in Sky Alayna, though it has been found in the cloud lands above Fuline Ah and it's islands as well. It is fairly easy to cultivate, but does not grow well with other plants, preferring the cloud to itself or at least with minimal nearby competition. Otherwise, it can make a fairly nice outdoor plant in one's yard or garden.
Spirra Starra
A recently discovered plant found on Hoshimi Island off the north coast of Crescent Minoria near Koraln Sing. Thought to be related to several other glowing star plants like it, the Spirra Starra is a unique species only found on Hoshimi Island because of the combined climate it receives from its nearest landmasses. Each continent generally causes the flora there to grow a certain way because of various factors. Crescent Minoria in particular causes native plants to grow hard, generally glass-like, dark-colored stems. The glass-like part often applies to the petals as well. The flora there also thrive at night, deriving much of their energy from the Crescent Minoria moon or the stars. Hoshimi Island is situated such that it receives much of this 'climate' from its parent continent, Crescent Minoria, but is far enough away from it that it is not completely 'governed' by it, which in turn gives rise to many different flora that ordinarily would not thrive in Crescent Minoria soil. Though some of these factors are unclear as stems of varying transparency are found on Crescent Minoria, though they do trend towards dark and more opaque. This is thought to be one of the reasons that the Spirra Starra can only grow on Hoshimi Island, as the clarity of its stem is more like that of a Sky Buddy World clearplant, where its nearest relatives can be found. The Spirra Starra is thought to be a hybrid of several Sky Buddy World plants whose seeds fell or blew out towards Hoshimi Island and found a suitable home there. It is even thought that it could be an escaped plant from some Sky Buddy World gardener who had their hybrid seeds blow away on them.
Despite its proximity to Koraln Sing, Hoshimi Island does not receive a very strong 'climate' influence from the continent, but instead receives a general oceanic climate. If anything, it is thought to receive the other half of its climate from Wing Alayna, despite the fact that Wing Alayna is separated from Koraln Sing, Crescent Minoria and Hoshimi Island by many miles of Buddy Ocean. It is thought perhaps this is due to a current that comes down past Mewga Island off the southeast coast of Wing Alayna and around through Crescent Minoria's Gulf of Luna. Since Mewga Island also has a strong 'climatory' influence, however, the theory is unconfirmed. Proponents of the currents theory will generally explain this discrepancy by pointing out that Mewga Island's influence, though strong on the island itself, is not strong enough to be carried across the ocean, and thus is not the cause of Hoshimi Island's blended climate. While it is generally believed that a continent's influence is bound to its surrounding area, anomalies like Hoshimi Island are beginning to beg the question of what happens to land situated on the border of this influence. Another theory is that oceanic climates bring their own 'default' influence, and that default is generally Wing Alaynan influence. Some of this could be explained by their proximity to Wing Alayna, or perhaps even their proximity to other Wing Alaynan-influenced oceans. Either way, Wing Alayna is generally accepted as the standard for normalcy in many areas, including matters of climate. One may even go so far as to consider Wing Alayna the 'default' state of JI, and all other landmasses are varying degrees of abnormality. Perhaps it should be no surprise then that this overriding default is sometimes strong enough to cross miles of ocean and ignore weaker influences. Either way, Hoshimi Island proves to be an interesting area of study on how the continents influence floral growth and adaptation, just how far that influence can extend, how those influences can blend, and even what it means for a flora to be 'Cresent Minorian,' 'Wing Alaynan,' and so forth.