Astral Pepper

On the highest peaks of the world, as close to the starry sky as it seemingly possible, grows a plant bearing deep blue fruits. This plant is called the Astral Pepper and its fruits are said to be so spicy that they introduce a hallucinogenic state into anyone who consumes them.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The astral pepper is a a small shrub growing up to around 1 metre tall with wooden stems and small glossy leaves. The fruits of the astral pepper, which are also called astral peppers, are elongated fruits of around 10 centimetres long. The flesh of the astral pepper is a deep dark blue, but the seeds inside are bright yellow.

Genetics and Reproduction

Astral peppers are in bloom during the middle of winter, its flowers folding into themselves during the day but opening up once the first stars appear in the long night sky. The flowers of the astral pepper are a bright yellow and bear five pedals, resembling an upside down flower when fully grown. These flowers attract giant bees, who during the winter months have little else to eat.

Ecology and Habitats

Astral pepper grow on and near mountaintops at a height of 4,000 m and will grow anywhere where there is no permafrost. On these heights the plant is able to grow freely up to the sky without competitions from taller plants that grow at lower altitudes.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Astral peppers are often eaten raw or heated and filled with goat cheese as a type of recreational drug. The spices inside of the pepper's seeds are capable of introduces an hallucinogenic state into the consumer, which makes them believe they see a world beyond their own. Some monasteries believe the consumption of astral peppers is even able to awaken mystical abilities into its consumers, which they refer to as stances. Although the truth behind this myth is yet to be proven definitively.