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= Small Encyclopedia of the Forest Flora =

The forest, our homeland, is the most beautiful ecosystem on Atys with its diversity of plants of every kind. Some flaunt dazzling, fragrant blossoms, whilst others groan with the most delicious fruits or nuts one can imagine.

There are 8 primary botanical families :

● Evergreen plants<br />● Fruit trees<br />● Grasses<br />● Herbs<br />● Intelligent Plants<br />● Mushrooms<br />● Roots<br />● Summer blooming plants

I will not discuss the herbs and here I restrict myself to the most common plants.<br />The overall diversity of the plants could easily be looked up in my complete works “The forest flora big encyclopaedia”

Evergreen Plants

In order to prevent rost damage, many forest plants shed their leaves in winter. As the name suggests, this is not the case with evergreen plants.<br />In addition, most grasses are evergreen, but these belong to a completely different family.

Now I will highlight various evergreen plants to show how diverse they are.

I shall start with the Dorotea.

The Dorotea is one of the biggest trees on Atys. Many cycles are necessary for it to reach its full height of 295 to 330 foot.<br />The Dorotea produces many buds in spring, which develop into big fruit with a very hard rind that reach full ripeness in the autumn.<br />To avoid frost damage, this tree eliminates most of its water. However it does not shed its leaves, conserving the energy that this would cost.<br />In spring the tree takes advantage of the remaining snow to replenish the water supply before summer.<br />Some botanists have managed to accelerate the growth of these trees,but the process requires a very large expenditure of energy

The Alinea is much smaller, with a height of 40 foot.<br />They consist of 2 trunks, each growing on one single root ball meandering around each other.<br />The Alineae produce an unusual adhesive resin, which is not used for common craft. But it is useful for various other purposes.<br />There is a phrase amongst Trykers, which I will stress denotes unusual insight.<br />“A pair united, like an Alinea” describes a couple doing everything together. The saying goes well with the Trykers, being, a lot like the Alinea, not the prettiest creatures on Atys.

The Irena is one of the most impressive breeding experiements achieved by the Matis.<br />Nobody would suspect that a delicate bush of 5 to 7 foot in height is a breed derived from the majestic Dorotea.<br />Via specific breeding, the Irena carrys berries and buds throughout the whole cycle, with the buds only falling off in winter, being very sensitive.<br />For homins the berries are inedible, but they are happily eaten by the Bodocs.

Fruit Trees

There are many fruit trees in the gardens of the Matis. The Salina is the most familiar and therefore the furthest spread.

The Salina’s colour scheme varies extremely throughout the seasons.<br />The tall treetop is coloured white in the winter by snow lying in the trees branches, and when the snow is gone the tree covers itself with a pink carpet of flowers.<br />In summer one can see red fruits, named Salins, peeping between the green leaves. The leaves turn bright orange before they tumble down to the ground.<br />The Salins are used in the well known delicacy Salins tart.<br />the height averages 130 to 165 foot, impeding attempts to harvest the salins. Often only windfall salins are used, which can give some salins tarts an unusual aftertaste.

Grasses

There are many small grasses present in the forest, usually declared as grass, lawn or meadow by the rabble.<br />Most grasses spread using their dense root system which is why large areas of grass are common. In the autumn, many grasses produce corncobs which, when ground, can be used for cooking breads and cakes.<br />Not, however considered as grass by many people is the Arino.

The Arino is the little cousin of the jungle based Arinish.<br />It posseses many dark palmlike leafes, filled with concentrated sap.<br />It reaches a height of 5 foot and a diameter of 10 foot.<br />The Arino is female.

Intelligent Plants

The intelligent plants are the only plants able to defend themselves, or to use other creatures to defend them.<br />The number of different intelligent plants is very limited.

The Psykoplas are widespread and share a special feature which affects other creatures. Small carnivores are often encountered near Psykoplas which defend the plants.<br />The Psykoplas grow 3 to 7 feet high and are coloured green all year round.

Cratchas are not wide spread in the forests and are spotted quite rarely In case of emergency they spit a sticky, poisonous substance at the attacker.<br />Many a homin has been bewitched by their beauty.

Mushrooms

The small mushrooms, being found at the wayside, are presumably known by many homins.<br />One should however be cautious with the big mushrooms of the forest.

The Fongice grows by night, given sufficient humidity is provided, and spreads its spores by day. It grows up to 7 foot tall and is coloured white or red.<br />The Fongice feed on the moss growing on them.<br />It is sufficient to touch one of these mushrooms with a hand and then then transfer to the mouth, to sicken within the hour.<br />The poison of the white Fongice causes one to lie in bed for several days, the poison of the red additionally causes hallucinations.

Roots

The root plants show a unexplainable growth, they appear to have no own leaves to gain energy from the light.

The Crolice is the most prominent big root, it reaches up to the sky or forms arches near the ground. During the summer season small, colorful plants are seen growing on the roots.

Summer blooming plants

Most plants bloom in spring, but not those of this family. These plants can often be found in impressive gardens or at the wayside; their beauty being beloved by the Matis.

The Angelio grows 23 to 43 foot high. Its delicate, graceful branches gleam pink, like its leaves.<br />The elegance of the Matis is truly represented by this tree and therefore it is planted along “charmers way” near Avalae.<br />The nuts of this tree ripen in autumn and fall to the ground.

The Dorio is a relation of the Dorotea, but it has developed in another direction.<br />With its height of 130 foot it is considerably smaller. After a very short maturity the seed falls to the ground on winglets which slow down the descent.<br />Unlike its relatives, it becomes completely bare in winter

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