Desert Jelly Palm

A Desert Jelly Palm.

Art by SolarSailor3.

Overview

The Desert Jelly Palm is a species of tall fieldic palm tree native to the deserts and steppes of West Ciradon. Desert Jelly Palms have waxy ringed trunks and silvery blue fronds. These palms are named for their bright blue seeds, which have a jelly-like texture when opened. Desert Palm Jelly is edible for most races and highly nutritious.

Desert Jelly Palms have found many culinary uses and have even been used to make magical elixirs. They are an economically important plant and are cultivated on large farms throughout their range. Due to their need to absorb energy from the field, Desert Jelly Palms can only grow near leyline rich areas. They are also intolerant of humidity, air pollution, and below freezing temperatures.

Description

Desert Jelly Palms are single-trunked, pinnate-leaved plants growing up to 33 meters tall. Leaves have thorns on their base. The trunk is stout and slightly bottle shaped. They can be almost a meter in diameter at the base. Desert Jelly Palms are often widest in the middle part of the trunk. The trunk has a waxy texture with large brown growth rings.

The stocky crown shaft is formed from waxy, gray-green or blue-green leaf sheaths. Occasionally the crown shaft can develop a fuzzy white texture. Leaves are greenish-blue below and more silvery above, with erect leaflets distributed in different planes.

Curiously Desert Jelly Palms seem to absorb magical energy directly from the field. It is believed this adaptation evolved to help the plant survive prolonged periods of drought. As a result parts of the tree contain magical properties, most notably the seeds.

These trees have a long lifespan, living for around 2000 years. When flowering Desert Jelly Palms have a white flower stalk that comes from the base of the crow shaft. Fruits are 2 inches long. They are brown to olive green in the early stages, becoming red when ripe.

Range

Desert Jelly Palms have three requirements that limit the regions they can grow in. First, while they do require some water, they are intolerant of excessive humidity. Wet tropical climates will produce sick infertile plants that quickly die. Like most palms these trees are killed when exposed to prolonged temperatures below freezing.

As they receive sustenance from the field itself, Desert Jelly Palms can only survive in regions of high leyline activity. When removed from such areas the trees slowly wither and die. However seeds can be transported through leyline dead areas without any ill effects as long as they are moved before germination.

In their native range these palms live in the southwestern steppes and deserts of West Ciradon. Frieredrel, I'Parlia, Southern Tassendrel, and Umridel are the main locations Desert Jelly Palms can be found. More isolated populations can be found in Mirengar, Goruth, Kyrence, and Ravizanno.

Thanks to the transportation of their seeds Desert Jelly Palms have also been cultivated outside their naturally occurring range in modern times. However this is still only possible in regions where their basic requirements can be met.

Desert Jelly Palms native range in red and introduced range in blue.

Uses

A wide assortment of culinary, building material, medical, and magical uses have been found for these palm trees. Most races find the seeds to be extremely nutritious. Their jelly is capable of being an entire meal in itself. This has made them useful as a quick meal that’s easily transportable.

More commonly the jelly is combined with other ingredients when cooking. Popular dishes include sandwiches, tacos, yogurts, soup, and pastries. Because of the fieldic properties found in the seeds, the jelly can be used in certain magical elixirs. These however have proven to have no effect on humans.

The sap of the Desert Jelly Palm can be extracted to create syrup. It can also be used to make Palm wine. Chocolate Palm Wine is a popular drink in areas where these palms grow, although the beverage is highly intoxicating.

While the trunk of the tree can be cut down for wood, its waxy nature means it’s less commonly used for building materials than other trees. Parts of the Desert Jelly Palms can be turned into wood adhesives.

Conservation Status

Because the Desert Jelly Palm absorbs magical energy from the field through its leaves, as an unintended side effect it will also absorb any air pollution. Doing so is harmful to the plant, causing them to become sick and making the seeds infertile.

If the palm receives too much air pollution the seeds will become inedible, or even toxic for consumption. These effects were first discovered when smog from Mitannian factories drifted across the border into Tassendrel. Dozens of palm farms were affected, and several crops were lost.

Thousands of people were hospitalized with severe food poisoning after eating Desert Palm Jelly tainted with air pollution. The event led to a small international incident when Tassendrel accused Mitannian workers of witchcraft and threatened a strong response.

Trivia

The Desert Jelly Palm was created by SolarSailor3 on the World of Tyrrell discord.

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