Rumbo Tree
M T / I AR / A CP - N (ignore this, it´s my custom rating system for materials)
The Rumbo tree, also called the "water giving tree", is s soft wooded tree with an isolating, hard, dry bark reaching around 2m(6.6 ft) of height, with a couple branches before having it´s grow slow down to a crawl. It is has a grey trunk and a few branches that don´t spread far and leaves in an assortment of green ball shaped spiky leaves(think "Joshua tree"). It is capable of storing vast amounts of water content within its roots and trunk, which is also one of the requirements for propagation of the Rumbo tree, as it fruits also have a very high water content.
It´s root system is far reaching, both deep and wide, for the purpose of gathering more water, but also firmly secure itself within the soil, this is especially useful for the specimen that grow deep within the Grukania Desert, were the loose sands and the common sandstorms require strong and deep roots, in addition to its water gathering/storing capabilities. To protect itself from predators its hard bark is further covered in white spines(think "Silk floss tree") and it uses it´s fruits to draw attention away from its water rich trunk. It is a predatory parasitic tree that uses other living fauna to carry and cultivate its seeds
These hard, fist sized fruits are unique in their design to spread their seeds, as they are highly pressurized to the point of being capable of exploding. The fruits are of a red color with a stem, similar to an apple, but their skin is tough and thick. They also have a high water content and are safe to eat, carrying a slight sour flavor. The fruits are grown within the protection of the prickly leaves and after reaching maturity the stem is the only part that continues to grow and causes the fruit to emerge from within the leaves dangling down within reach of predators, at this point they also start to give off a sharp scent that reminds of citrus fruits that potentially attracts fauna.
During its growth process the core, the size of a walnut, starts a rotting/fermenting process of its own, the seeds are resistant but the surrounding plant matter starts to rot and gases develop that put the core under high pressure. This pressure is contained by the strong core shell and the surrounding pressure of the pulp, encased in its tough skin. When it explodes the force is great enough to cause the seeds to penetrate skin and even flesh, traveling otherwise a couple meters. These seeds can actually cause slight necrosis through prolonged contact and can use the necrosis to gain nutrients from its victim. The seeds have a high initial grow rate to prevent leaving the host body by way of excretion.
When a predator starts eating the fruit, there are tree cases that can happen:
The Rumbo tree, also called the "water giving tree", is s soft wooded tree with an isolating, hard, dry bark reaching around 2m(6.6 ft) of height, with a couple branches before having it´s grow slow down to a crawl. It is has a grey trunk and a few branches that don´t spread far and leaves in an assortment of green ball shaped spiky leaves(think "Joshua tree"). It is capable of storing vast amounts of water content within its roots and trunk, which is also one of the requirements for propagation of the Rumbo tree, as it fruits also have a very high water content.
It´s root system is far reaching, both deep and wide, for the purpose of gathering more water, but also firmly secure itself within the soil, this is especially useful for the specimen that grow deep within the Grukania Desert, were the loose sands and the common sandstorms require strong and deep roots, in addition to its water gathering/storing capabilities. To protect itself from predators its hard bark is further covered in white spines(think "Silk floss tree") and it uses it´s fruits to draw attention away from its water rich trunk. It is a predatory parasitic tree that uses other living fauna to carry and cultivate its seeds
Rumbo tree fruit
These hard, fist sized fruits are unique in their design to spread their seeds, as they are highly pressurized to the point of being capable of exploding. The fruits are of a red color with a stem, similar to an apple, but their skin is tough and thick. They also have a high water content and are safe to eat, carrying a slight sour flavor. The fruits are grown within the protection of the prickly leaves and after reaching maturity the stem is the only part that continues to grow and causes the fruit to emerge from within the leaves dangling down within reach of predators, at this point they also start to give off a sharp scent that reminds of citrus fruits that potentially attracts fauna.
During its growth process the core, the size of a walnut, starts a rotting/fermenting process of its own, the seeds are resistant but the surrounding plant matter starts to rot and gases develop that put the core under high pressure. This pressure is contained by the strong core shell and the surrounding pressure of the pulp, encased in its tough skin. When it explodes the force is great enough to cause the seeds to penetrate skin and even flesh, traveling otherwise a couple meters. These seeds can actually cause slight necrosis through prolonged contact and can use the necrosis to gain nutrients from its victim. The seeds have a high initial grow rate to prevent leaving the host body by way of excretion.
Spreading & Propagation
When a predator starts eating the fruit, there are tree cases that can happen:
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Nibbling
As the pulp is consumed and the core becomes exposed, the core can hold onto its integrity for quite some while, even after the skin and surrounding fruit flesh are gone, but it is far more prone to external impact in this situation. What actually causes the core to explode is dryness. As the core gets exposed to the air it becomes dry, especially if inside the sweltering desert heat, causing it to become extremely brittle, where it ultimately explodes as it cannot withstand it´s internal pressure. As the explosion takes place near the mouth there is a high chance of seeds penetrating eyes or tissue nearby that instantly or afterwards blinds its victim. A blinded host probably will not survive, succumbing, in the worst case, to the necrosis as it dies a painful death. The seeds can then use the nutrients of a corpse to reach maturity, often the cadaver is also eaten by other carnivores imbibing the seeds and giving them a new host that potentially carries the seed to a better location. Even if a victim is killed immediately the cadaver just rots in front of the tree giving it more nutrients or is eaten by other predators, as mentioned beforehand.
Swallowing
In this case the core gets swallowed during the eating process, causing the explosion process to be delayed for some time as the stomach acid keeps the core from drying out, but ultimately the core bursts inside the victim with mostly lethal consequences. Either way if the host dies or survives the following steps are the same as in "nibbling" apart of the host probably having traveled away from the Rumbo tree.
Breaking
During the eating process a careless victim might crush the core by biting it or something similar. In this case it explodes in close proximity or even inside the mouth of the victim, causing severe damage that is capable of ripping a hole in the neck, break off teeth or otherwise heavily injure the victim. It is usually very painful and probably lethal, if only by robbing the host of its functioning teeth, tongue, etc.
These Fruits give off a rotten stench when they explode and are commonly seen in the hot regions Like the Grukania Desert, Kesharin Shrubland, Grand Oasis and the Stalker Savanna on Beregad.
Most lifeform can not digest Rumbo fruit seeds as they are highly resistant to acids and necrosis.
Uses and Worth
Intelligent creatures can use tools to drain some of it´s water away, without harming the tree long term. This water is not suitable for consumption right away, as it can cause severe diarrhea, it has to be boiled beforehand to be made safe for consumption. The fruits, if handled with care and knowledge, are almost of no danger and the fruits are actually quite tasty and healthy because of their high water content. They are very useful trees and therefore respected, so should there be signs of misuse, severe harvesting or sign of destruction, by man or animal, it is actually a case of concern and often immediately investigated. If a tree is found to be waning and unhealthy, warriors often are tasked with hunting some game to be buried beneath the tree, together with some alchemical solutions for ease of consumption, to strengthen the tree.
The seeds have found themselves being used as a weapon if prepared right and stored correctly, making for dangerous and simple explosive weapons, that may require surgical removal of seeds and additional healing because of necrosis. They have otherwise also found usage as alchemical and medicinal ingredients as they have some rare properties.
A more grim usage of the Rumbo tree fruits is for ritualistic murder. There are many kinds of death sentences in the culture of the
Tribes of the desert most commonly known the "death by thirst" but for many criminals that have not reached that level of hatred the Rumbo tree seeds are used to "let them be useful a last time". The criminals that receive this death sentence are bound and escorted to a defined spot, during this time they are fed well, also called the "fertilizer meal", when they reach the place the criminal is forced to swallow either Rumbo fruit seeds or a whole core, based on the severity of the sentence. Eating a core means in most cases a painful but quick death, while seeds promise long torture. After the death of the criminal the body is buried and some alchemical solutions are used to help the Rumbo tree seeds to grow and absorb the nutrients of the body. In this way the criminal has at least contributed with his death to grow another Rumbo tree and therefore "brought more water to into the desert".
- Garomalk, Local merchant of Roch |
Ecological Cycle
During the The long Dark Rumbo trees actually freeze extremely quickly due to their high water content. This freezing is a kind of hibernation that protects the tree and it slowly thaws out over the following days. During this time it uses almost no energy which also helps overcoming the initial timeframe where nature has to normalize itself again and animals are slightly rarer as the long dark has culled the fauna and flora of Latebra.
Lifespan:
Seedling(germination): 1 dayEstimated Lifespan: unknown - all Deaths caused by inability of sustaining size or destruction through third parties
Growth:
Dependent on available nutrition.Most Rumbo trees are able to sustain only on water, sunlight and normal nutrition taken from the soil.
Carnivorous diet causes additional growth, but remains a secondary unreliable source, though desert specimen seem to be more reliant on it.
Early growth, upon successful germination and necessary water intake seems to be ridiculously accelerated, for a tree, up to 33 cm(13 in) during the first year. Afterwards growth seems to plateau around 9cm(3,5 in), changing based on available nutrition. Later growth spurt have been witnessed that are near their initial growing speed.
This is an interesting plant. I especially like how the seeds can actually be used as an explosive weapon. The death sentence related to the fruit seem quite unpleasant so well done! My main feedback for improvement would be to split the text a bit into more paragraphs since some are quite long.