Brittle Berries

Brittle Berries are a species of fruit, although they are unlike almost any other fruit in the world. They grow in small clusters, much like grapes, with each berry acting as a protective layer around a hard pit at its center. However, unlike grapes and other berries, the meat of the fruit is firm and dry, so it appears closer to a nut. When the fruit is put under enough pressure, it cracks and crumbles into a fine powder which can be eaten on its own or used to create pastes and dough, much like flour. 
Although each Brittle Berry bush does not yield a large amount of fruit at any one time, they do yield fruit all year long, usually being harvested every 3 months or so. Brittle Berry bushes are incredibly resilient, to the point where they will take root and survive in almost any soil, although their production will still be negatively affected. The only thing that does seem to have a disastrous effect on Brittle Berry cultivation is actually the presence of other large plants. They can coexist with small plants like grasses and some root vegetables, but if a Brittle Berry bush begins to grow within about 100 feet of another tree, bush, or vine system, one of the two will inevitably die. Either the Brittle Berries will aggressively grow toward the other plant and starve them of nutrients, or they will quickly wither and die despite the other plant not changing significantly. The specific response seems to be completely dependent on the species of the plant in question, although nobody has yet to discover a pattern or logic behind which species cause which reaction and it seems to be random.
Due to the Brittle Berry's resilience as well as the fact that the fruit of Brittle Berries are very nutritious and calorically dense, they have become a staple crop for the nation of Shindus. They are by far the most common crop grown on Kikerion Cooperative farms, but the requirements for cultivating them are incredibly strict. Brittle Berry farms are set up like vineyards and are very heavily monitored for any kind of plant growth other than the rows of bushes. They typically have a wide perimeter around the outer most rows where farmers need to constantly prune any other plants, for fear of a catastrophic failure of the entire vineyard.
Brittle Berries also have a strong cultural importance in Shindus, because they are believed to have a direct connection to the Five Heroes and the original miracle performed by Teodon the Farmhand. According to legend, they are descended from the crossbreeding of the miracle fruit discovered by Teodon during the first winter in the Shindus valley and the seeds the First Settlers brought with them from old Dujuku.