Gallentia Marsh Berries
Data
- Climate: Moderate, Wet
- Terrain: Marshlands
- Organization: Cluster of three to six berries
- Activity: Annual
- Size: 5-10 mm diameter, smooth and round with no surface features
Habitat
Gallentia Marsh Berries are found, as their namesake suggests, in temperate marshlands of Gallente Prime. The berry grows on small, low shrubs that for most of the year appear to be little more than a tuft of sticks sprouting from the soft, marshy ground. The shrubs grow for many years and often form tight groups of several dozen plants.
Ecology
Berry season culminates towards the mid-Winter and in ancient times linked with Solstice festivals. The berries must be hand-picked when ripe, and given the relative scarcity of the plant and its difficult habitat, makes collection an expensive and labor intensive venture. Care must be taken during harvest not to disturb their fragile environment and to ensure the survival of the plants for future harvest. Gallentia Marsh Berries are extremely expensive on the open market and due to the specific nature of their biology the creation of similar conditions for artificial cultivation is challenging and at best produces a limited and inferior variety of the fruit. Gallentia Marsh Berries are frequently blended with other herbs in flavorsome, sweet teas.
Characteristics
The berries are arranged in small, tight clusters of usually half-a-dozen and are matt indigo to black in color. As the berries mature in growth a layer of yeast will often dust their surface. Fermentation has been attempted but is not encouraged due to their already scarce nature, their use since ancient time having been medicinal and in the enhancement of various teas. The berry is very sweet, the flesh is soft and seedless, and the skin is very fragile and easily broken, making harvest a particularly skilled venture. The plant will flower at the onset of winter the following year only if it has been harvested, suggesting it has evolved a symbiotic link with human activity over the millennia. If a plant is not harvested it may die or become dormant for many years until it does so and the loss of a single plant is considered a significant loss. New plants however keep the population stable, although they are slow-growing and do not mature for fruit production until they are around 8-10 years old.
References
- Tea
- Described by Zenariae Havraan
