Sweetbark and Spongebark

The Sweetbark is a spice harvested from the inner bark of the Sponge Tree. The Spongebark is a construction material obtained from the outer bark of the same tree.

A useful adaptation

The tree, native of varil archipelagus, adapted to its environment by growing at maturity a thick external lightweight bark that protects it from the frequent fires sparked from the volcanic eruptions in the islands.
For this reason it is the most prominent tree in the islands of the archipelago, being the only one capable of resisting to the adverse conditions and often growing in thick forests surrounded by more ephemeral shrubs and bushes.
It is not uncommon for some of the specimen to reach over one hundred years of age and In some notable cases the thousands.
The fireproof external bark, known as Spongebark, is a "dead" tissue of the plant and it grows in subsequent layers from an inner active layer that is commercially known as Sweetbark because of its warm and sweet aroma.
The Spongebark is harvested every 3 years bisecting the circumference in two points of the tree trunk and then joining them with two vertical cuts so to gather two half shells of the trunk bark.
The thick lightweight and elastic material obtained is very pliable when wet and easy to carve and is one of the best fire and temperature insulants available in Hislariya. From the archipelago, it is exported all around the world and used for a variety of scopes, including fireproofing and insulating buildings, soundproofing, and the production of handles for cooking utensiles and sealing caps for jars and bottles.

..to protect a hot core

The harvesting of the spongebark has the additional effect of exposing the sweetbark, a thin red layer of wood, warm to the touch and with a very fragrant aroma that can be harvested with a similar procedure as the outer layer and sun dried in sheets, process that makes it very easily powdered. It is then sold as is in sheet packs or in powder to be used as sweetener and spice for culinary and medical use.
The Sweetbark is particularly appreciated as an ingredient for baked desserts and as a environment scent with supposed aphrodisiac effects.

CW: mention of sexual practices in the blurred section

A private use

When applied on skin and mucosae, the sweetbark powder has the effect of increasing the local circulation and activate the temperature receptors.
While it is of common use in medicinal ointments for the cure of chronic inflammation, some people take advantage of this characteristic by shortly infusing sweetbark in oil and use it as intimate lubricant for a pleasant warming and stimulant effect during their sexual encounters.