Mawa Palm
Your face blisters under the unrelenting rays of Sahra' al-Shams, the Isik Gozyaslari gum in your mouth nearly tasteless after your solitary trek through the dunefields. You realize you should have been looser with your coin, should have sprung for a Shamsi Camel and a guide. A knot forms in your stomach as the panic sets in—will it be the heat or radiant sickness that takes you? Yet just before you have a chance to swallow this grim reality, bright orange fronds break over the horizon and your legs buckle at the welcome sight: a Mawa Palm!
Racial Magic
☀️Rithaldis' Shield
☀️
Immune to damage or ill effects from both radiant magic and naturally occurring radiant energy including radiation.
Flithmar's Shield
Immune to negative effects and/or damage from all flame magic and naturally occurring flames. Fireproof.
This is a hardy and widespread palm tree native to northern Alkelbulan. It grows in areas with some groundwater or rocky hills, found alongside rivers and within wadis and oaeses. It's racial magic is simple but vital, leaving it totally immune to fire and radiant energy, natural or magical. For this reason, its leaves and wood are harvested for Material Magic and to craft clothing, buildings and tools which offer the same resistances.
Basic Information
Anatomy
by Lee Stepp
It's trunk has splitting branches and tufts of large leaves at the end. Leaves can be green, white or orange. When fire or strong radiation are present, they will become totally orange or totally white instead. The bark is smooth and ivory white with scars from fallen leaves, though colors may still shift in the presence of fire. The leaf stalks are large with clusters of flowers, females producing large woody fruit with a single seed.
Original Ancestor
Doum Palm
Lifespan
Size
Width: Trunk: 90 cm (35 in)
Length:
Leaves: 47 x 71 in (120x180 cm)
Flower Clusters: 3'11" (1.2 m)
Growth Rate & Stages
by Lee Stepp
It can tolerate temperate climates but prefers above 28 C (82 F). It grows wild in places with low rainfall but can tolerate wetter environments as long as drainage is good. They need a sunny, well drained habitat and succeeds in a wide range of soils. Established trees are very drought tolerant. They grow slowly, fan shaped leaves produced at ground level two to three years after germination. A new leaf is produced each week and the stem is fully grown after 18-20 years. They will begin fruiting at about 6-8 years old, producing up to fifty kilos of fruit a year (100 lbs). Both male and female trees are needed for fruit and seed.
Ecology and Habitats
by Lee Stepp
It prefers open grasslands and desert, growing in the wadis and oases across Alkelbulan and even in the desert. This includes Arabiyyan Desert, Shamsi Desert, Arya, Gaarreen Ho'aa, Nyasi za Rangi and Kasar Wuta. They sometimes grow away from water on rocky hills, disliking waterlogged soils and is immune to destruction by fire or radiation.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
by Lee Stepp
Mawa Palms are valued for an array of purposes but especially for the shade it provides in hot, dry regions where little else grows. Every part of these trees are useful but it's most valued for its leaves. It's racial magic is vital to anyone living in Shamsi or Kasar Wuta. It's total immunity to radiant and flame magic makes it an excellent crafting or construction material in these dangerous regions, imparting it's protection.
It's fibers are used for baskets, mats, textiles, brooms, ropes, string and especially thatching. With proper preparation, these items can utilize the inate magic to protect people, food and tools from fire and radiation. The lumber is also used for posts and poles, furniture and beehives. It isn't useful as fuel compared to other woods, immune to fire, but is useful in construction even within the Kasar Wuta. In the grasslands, it is an essential material for resisting frequent wildfires.
All parts of the fruit are edible. The rind can be made into molasses, cakes and sweet meats. The kernels are also edible and the shoots of germinated seeds can be eaten as a vegetable. The Masryeen people sell these from street vendors as a snack and in herbalist shops. They are very popular among children, gnawing it's sweet and sour, fibrous flesh beneath its hard crust. The flavor is comparable to gingerbread, some calling this a gingerbread palm.
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