Water Plants
Wine Kelp is a common type of Kelp in the Suvan Sea, but the Charodae are the only ones who use it. It comes in various shades of purple. It grows fast and tall. Within a season, it will go from a root on the seabed to a thick,leafy stalk reaching the surface far above. Y'Uanu grows it in thick forests covering about an acre of the farmland. The plant starts off as a root clipping that gets buried in the seabed. Within several days, a large, pink flower-like plant is formed at the site. The kelp stalk then begins shooting up and out of the center of the flower. Large, wine colored leaves begin to branch out of the main stalk. After about a season of growth, the kelp will detach from the root base and float to the surface. This is when the plant is most ripe and ready to be harvested. The Wine Kelp has a few uses. The first is simple consumption of the leaves, which have a slippery, yet cushiony texture. They taste like wine, but without the tinge of alcohol. Many Charoda treat this as a dessert food. The leaves can also be ground up and fermented into a true wine, which has a very unique taste to it, courtesy of the salt water. The wine is fermented inside of empty gourds, and when it is ready to be consumed, one punches through the skin with a slim reed to use as a straw. Several factors can affect the taste of the wine, from the location of the Kelp, the season harvest, the gourd it is stored in, the reed straw used to drink it. Charodae will often have collections of the wine gourds claiming that they are the superior wine from a better season.
Sweet reeds are another of the crops grown in the garden. Y'Uanu found these near a nameless island far east of Alvadas. At first, these didn't take to the environment in the Caldera, but a few years of persistence led to a magnificent crop. These reeds are slow growing, taking a full year for a single harvest. They look much like bamboo, coming in shades of yellow and tan. Their leaves, which are only available during the first two seasons of its growth, are a dull blue. The reeds start off quite thin, but will thicken as they grow, reaching about three inches in diameter after a year. A year's growth will result in about 30 feet of upwards growth.Sweet reeds are filled with a thick, white, syrupy substance. This substance is extremely sweet tasting, and it is not uncommon for Charodae to be seen sucking the Reed Syrup from these, especially children. This substance can be cooked over a fire or a deep sea heated vent. When the outer husk of the reed turns a reddish brown, the inside is done. The reed can then be cracked open, and one will find a powdery white substance inside. This is Reed Sugar. It can be used just like regular sugar. Reed Syrup can also be fermented into a sweet rum, often inside the same type of gourds as the Kelp Wine. This rum is often seasoned with surface herbs and spices. The Svefra are also quite fond of this rum and will usually barter a fair amount for it.
The meat of the gourd isn't tasty to any of the sentient species, but is loved by seahorses and even some of the land bound herbivores. The rind of the gourd can be chopped into long strips and fried. This isn't popular among the Charodae, but the land species usually find it quite delightful. The gourds can also be hollowed out and used as containers for alcohol to be fermented within, usually Kelp Wine and Reed Rum.
This kelp is one of the highest forms of delicacies among the Charodae. It never needs to be cooked, it is incredibly nutritious, and will last an incredibly long time without spoiling. No Charoda has ever managed to transplant the Gilded Kelp back in Charbosi, and Myri's teeth is the only place it exists.
Ami is a slender, underwater, reed-like plant with rounded filaments. If held up to the light, a net-like pattern appears throughout the frame of the plant. Although Ami’s color is actually brown, ff one views it in its natural habitat at the bottom of the sea, a purple-blue gloss coats it. This gloss is slimy and foul-tasting, and it is produced to discourage predators from preying on the filaments. It mainly inhabits the rocks of a shoal or a beach, just beyond the lowest tide point. Its gloss is often harvested to enhance artwork. Ingestion is not recommended as the plant's spines are difficult to remove and can cut the soft tissue inside a person's throat if left intact.
Anthozoa, also known as sea corals, have over fifty different varieties, ranging in colors, shapes, and habitats. They are all, however, found underneath the waters surrounding Konti Isle and Charbosi. Comparable to rainforests, sea corals provide habitation for many other natural plants and underwater creatures. They can be used as nutrition for these underwater creatures, while also substituting as protection and homes for these same organisms.
Chali is a lovely flowering plant, though most of the plant itself is submerged. It can be divided into three distinct parts: the flower, the stem, and the pad. The pad is large and round, and it is connected to the flower by the stem. Its main purpose is collect nutrients from the environment to take directly through the stem to the roots. The Chali flower is usually violet-blue in color with reddish edges, but some varieties in other parts of Mizahar have white, purple, or fuchsia-colored flowers depending on the temperature and nutrients available. It has approximately fifteen petals with an angular appearance, thereby making the flower itself look star-shaped from above. Its uses vary, as it is a plant with many properties. The most common use, of course, is aromatic. Chali flower is strongly scented, with a mildly spicy aroma. Drying the plant and making it into a tea creates a light sedative, while burning the stem and inhaling the smoke boosts a feeling of tranquility and peace. They are incredibly common on the Isle, and most often found in many of the ponds and lakes.
Elodea is a weed that lives entirely underwater with the exception of small white flowers that bloom at the surface and are attached to the plant by delicate stalks. It produces winter buds from the stem tips that live on the bottom of slow-flowing rivers or lakes. In the fall, leafy stalks will detach from the parent plant, float away, root, and start new plants. This plant attracts a wealth of amphibians and fresh fish, which makes them a useful tool for fishermen. Eating the plant itself often results in chest pain.