Crosslings

Crosslings are a strange breed of plant that have begun to pop up over the past twenty years in the aftermath of World War III; one of the few cultivatable crops that can survive the intense cold outdoors. Originating in the mid-western part of the country, Crosslings have been spread throughout the entire country for people to grow themselves.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Crosslings are named for the strange x-shaped formation this plant's flowers take on, of which are colored a bluish-purple color, the base of the flower being black. Crossling plants tend to be bushy in form, the leaves of it being a dull black coloration, clumped together in large groups underneath trees. The flowers have a chemical within them that can induce a hallucinogenic effect upon consumption; which include the feeling of warmth throughout the body and faint visual hallucinations.

Growth Rate & Stages

The bushes take around two months to grow, with the flowers on the plant taking anywhere from a month to as little as a week depending on how properly the plant has been taken care of. When planted in the ground or in a pot, it'll start off as a seed that slowly grows into a fern. It'll remain this way, with ice freezing up on the tips of the stems, before suddenly bursting forward in the span of a week into a bush. Afterward, the plants will last around a year before dying, with the flowers on them blooming several times a year in the time span until its death.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

When the flowers on these plants are blooming, they have various uses that people are eager to take advantage of. One of the more noteworthy things are Crossling Cigarettes; made with several of the flowers ground up into dust and put into a piece of paper that is rolled up into a cigar. These cigarettes are not used as currency, due to the fact that if they were then it'd only create problems for the already bare-bones as it is economy. Instead, people will smoke these cigarettes and get a pleasant high from the plant's hallucinogenic effects. Other times, people will add the dust from these flowers onto the food they cook, giving the taste of the food a faint flair of spice. Those who decide not to grind the plant up will often wear the flowers on their head in bands or on their ear; oftentimes seen on Nomans or people going to The WorldForge.

Scientific Name

Plantae crosslia

Lifespan

1 Year

Average Height

2.5m (8 ft)