Twilight Sunbush

The Heart of the Tundra

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"We use its wood in our roofs to melt the snow off, in our tool handles to keep our hands warm, and in our gardens to allow food to grow better."

A woody shrub that survives icy climates better than pretty much every other plant because its wood is infused with a magical ability to generate heat. In the tundra of Slehea and places where it's been introduced to the Northern Fringes on Bralis, this property is very useful to local wildlife and cultures. Although it creates its own oasis in ice deserts, it's growth is still heavily affected by the months-long disappearances and presences of the sun.

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Basic Information

Anatomy

These bushes are on the large size, akin to a small tree. They grow very wide and dense dense but short trunks, and their leaves are thick, small, circular, and poisonous to most animals. Its flowers are also small but bloom in ball-like clusters of many hues. Orange is the most common variety in the wild, but some have been bred into purple, red, and yellow varieties. Its berries are small and blackish purple.

Genetics and Reproduction

Sunbushes flower in the early Spring and produce berries as the season comes to a close so that when they drop, they'll have all summer to take root and grow as big as they can. The seeds don't get far without wind or animals, but that just means they create dense patches where it's easier to melt snow and encourage beneficial wildlife around them.

Growth Rate & Stages

A sunbush takes around two decades to grow to full size.

Ecology and Habitats

Twilight sunbush patches often act as oases for tundra wildlife, as small critters hide in their dense branches, more flora is enabled to grow nearby, and larger creatures come to get warm and feed.

Because the roots can only melt so much permafrost, sunbush communities end up with rather boggy conditions from the snow that melts off their leaves.

Biological Cycle

In the summer when the sun doesn't set, these plants go through an intense period of growth. In the winter when the sun doesn't rise, it keeps itself warm enough to survive without shedding its leaves but cannot grow anymore.

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Geographic Distribution

• Slehea

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