Sandranna Flowers

Written by Ademal

Sandranna flowers are native to the shores of Khatoum. They are coveted for their medicinal and recreational effects, and are as much the subject of local myths and tales as they are the cause of them.

In modern times they are grown and harvested in biodomes.

Ecology: Deep Roots

Sandranna flowers grow in the subtropical regions of the western shore of the main continent of Jhoutai. They were nearly wiped out by the The Rebalancing when widespread ecological disaster stemming from the war turned Khatoum into a barren wasteland. Of the flora which survived the region, the Sandranna flower is among the most coveted, as its uses spurred the eventual rebuilding of the region.
They prefer partial sunlight, and can be found near the entrances of higher-altitude corralum where they won't be constantly flooded, or in forests surrounding corralum floodways.
The Sandranna flower is unique to the region of Khatoum, but shares markers and growth behaviors with Vampire Vines. It is thought that the Sadranna was a strain isolated by the formation of the Kajhsver'ru desert, and evolved independently from there.
Sandranna flowers spread by sending shoots underground. Each new shoot is a child despite still connecting to the parent, and will separate under stress or starvation, but will otherwise remain connected to share nutrients in either direction as needed.
They are hearty plants, and were even able to survive in the highly acidic dirt of Khatoum after the Rebalancing.

Stages of Life: Sandri and Annam

Sandranna flowers have two major phases: Sandri and Annam. During its Sandri phase the plant focuses on formation—it takes root, it forms buds, and it waits for many years while feeding off of its environment. During this time, it will make slight self-modifications that show only once it enters its Annam phase.
The transition to Annam phase is one of metamorphosis. The plant flowers, and the flowers show the outcome of all those self-modifications. Plants in more humid regions will have more waxy petals, some thicker, some thinner, some larger, some smaller. While there is an element of randomization with their mutations, as happens with all mutations, the Sandranna is capable of actively manipulating its own epigenetics to allow differences in blossoms between generations of flowering.

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Sandranna Blossom by Anna B

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Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Vampire Vines

Drug Trade

Sandranna blossoms are natural anesthetics, hallucinogens, and stimulants.

Variations in epigenetic evolutions between each generation of blossoming allows plants to be modified to enhance these effects.

These traits have lead to them being a popular basis for many drugs including Glamour, Effer, and many others.

Pest Killer

Like Vampire Vines, Sandranna are parasitic, but instead of predating on fauna they consume trees and crops by sinking their anchor roots into and sapping them like a blight until they collapse in upon themselves, little but sludge and shell.

Unmodified Sandranna can make it impossible to farm a region. Exotic mutations made in labs can pose an ecological disaster if left unchecked.

The botanist crouched down to get eye-level with one of the blossoms growing on the decaying tree.The flower was as large as his hand, with petals of alternating lilac and maroon color. Ruddy tendrils hanging from it gave it a predatory appearance, fitting, given that its shoots were weaving through the soft wood of its host, sapping away its life one calorie at a time.

From the center of the blossom, a golden nectar pot gazed out. I felt watched.

"Gorgeous flower," he said. "They used to cause no end of trouble for the Verin who first tried to colonize the mainland of Jhoutai. They grow fast, and run rampant on crops in particular. And, of course, they send shoots through the dirt first, so you don't know they're eating your crops until they've already done too much damage."

He straightened up, admiring the way the vines pressed in against the softening bark of the tree. "All this growth is about a week of work. It's an unnatural speed because we've engineered out the dormancy stages, but even natural plants could do this damage over a course of a couple months."

I was perturbed by his grin as he turned to face me, ears perked up and tale ticking side-to-side. "Biggest blossoms I've ever had. Hedon markets pay a pretty penny for this stuff, you know? Syndicate, too, but at least the Hedonists are using it more for fun than anything else!"

He threw his head back, laughing.