Bleeding Bulb

The Bleeding Bulb is a plant that grows predominantly in Ivendarea's south. It is comparatively rarely seen, but has the reputation of either making those people who find a specimen rich or ruining their week entirely.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The bleeding bulb is a large vine, usually growing between the roots of trees. It "crawls" up trees and grows around their trunks, forming large yellow blossoms with purple speckles that over time produce bulbous fruits resembling eggplants in shape and colour. These fruits are what give the plant its name. They can grow to a quite impressive size, sometimes up to 60 centimeters in length and with a diameter of about 30-40 centimeters at the thickest point. The fruits have a dark purple tint, except for the pale tip at the bottom.

Genetics and Reproduction

When the fruits are ripe, they start to ooze a delicious nectar from the tip, red in colour. This draws in birds and insects that then spread the pollen.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The sweet nectar of the plant is what gives it its reputation of good or bad luck. Not only does it draw in birds and insects, but it also sells for high prices at the market, due to the rarity of the plant. It can be diluted in water and sold as a flavoured drink, or be made into a honey-like syrup that can be found in traditional pastries or as a spread on bread.
Harvesting the nectar doesn't come without a risk though: there is only a short time-frame of about two weeks once a year where the nectar simply drips from the fruit and can be collected in a bucket or bottle placed beneath. After the timeframe of harvest is over, the dripping stops as a sort of natural cork forms at the tip. The fruit starts to swell even more than before, as a process of fermentation starts within it. It is still possible to get nectar out of the fruit at this point through carefully pricking a hole into it. It won't taste as good as naturally harvested nectar, but still sells well on most markets. Harvesting the nectar like this though is comparable to playing with fire. If the fruit is punctured in the wrong place or very far into the fermentation process, it will burst open like a water balloon, shooting seeds and extremely sticky and smelly nectar into all directions, usually covering the unlucky harvester completely. Getting the fermented plant sap out of hair and clothing is a challenge, and the seeds that were growing within the fruit function like tiny projectiles with the ability to really hurt anyone in proximity of the explosion.

Conservation Status

Not Protected