rice

the supposedly extinct terran seed rediscovered

The edible grass called "rice" was brought to Ashvaarya by the Fallen, as a staple foodstuff. Like several other terran plant and animal species however, the plant could barely survive in the Ashvaaryan environment and died out within a matter of years.
Or so it was thought. In the summer of 824AS, a prospecting clan resurveying the edges of the Blacklands, discovered a small band of tall flowering grasses growing in the shallower parts of the swamps. Despite the dangers, the wildlings were able to retrieve a sample of the plant and return it to Landen. Upon careful examination of the Scholar's Guild, it was concluded that the plant was indeed a variation of the recorded description of the plant, "rice".

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

According to those limited records available, rice was intended to be a common, high yield foodstuff, not unlike the native yaavan seeds. It was starchy and calorie rich, though relatively flavourless.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The few discovered plants were found growing in small patches of the brackish waters of the wetlands known as the Blacklands. How far the plant has spread is unknown. The Blacklands are a vast and uninhabitable section of Austur, so it conceivable that the plant is relatively common over the area, but considering that only a couple of small patches in very specific circumstances were found, it was deemed unlikely to have a broad distribution.

"Like oak and tomato, the ancient rice plant was considered nearly mythical, perhaps even fictional. To examine a surviving example of a plant that should not exist, is a more surreal and exhilerating experience than I would have expected."

- Krisa of Ailesbury, Scholars Guild (824AS)

Scientific Name

oryza sativa

Origin/Ancestry

terra

Conservation Status

unprotected

Average Height

0.5 to 1 meter