Expeditions to the Crescent Minoria Dimension have brought back still more information about flora that can be found in some of the more stable rooms.
The primary specimen we will be examining is the Huminia.
Huminia
The leaves are flexible with a somewhat taffy-like texture, though not quite as elastic. They have a taste similar to licorice, but are tough to chew. The stem is a little more delicate and has more of a licorice texture and taste, though it is somewhat bitter.
The petals have a similar texture as the leaves towards the center. Towards the end they become more properly petal-like. They have a sweet, minty, candy-like taste.
The stamen have a fainter licorice taste than the stem/leaves. They are rather fragile and crumble easily in the mouth. The tips of the stamen have a minty flavor, though they aren't sweet like the petals.
Paepa Lantan Tree
The Paepa Lantan tree (featured on the left) is usually found in Fuline Ah, and is popular for its decorative fruits. The centers usually contain a fruity, jelly-like substance surrounded by a woody shell with a pleasant, somewhat spicy aroma like a mild form of cinnamon bark or cocobola.
This variant has a substance like hardened ink in the center of its fruits instead. They are not especially palatable, but the leaves have a distinct aroma, unlike its fruits. It is difficult to describe exactly, but the closest facsimile might be the smell of an old library, but with a fresher, greener undertone rather than the mustier one.
As one might expect, the leaves of this variant taste like paper, though they are slightly sweet, lacking the chemically undertones that manufactured paper might.
The mother species in Fuline Ah has a much more leafy taste to its leaves, though they do have a slight paper undertone.
Chekarin Mawarin
The flowers along the pillar were identified to be a relative of the Hirin Mawarin, a vine with flowers similar to small-disked sunflowers usually found in Wing Alayna growing along Pathvines. It is thought to be a hybrid between the Hirin Mawarin and Chekana Blawania.
Chekarin Mawarin usually have about 12 ray flowers that alternative between black and white. The color of the center can vary, sometimes containing alternating white and black, all black, or all white disk flowers depending on the exact flower head.
Others
A few other specimens were found on the expedition, but many of them were quite young. Mature specimens of the younger plants were not found nearby. This could mean they were planted by the residents of the dimension, or perhaps seeds blew in from further away, given the uneven spacing.
Among the small specimens named were the Biidama Lala (bottom left), a few variants of the Kokokabu family (scattered; one in the roots just south of the Paepa Lantan tree variant, others middle bottom right), and a young Sukatil (bottom right). Without mature specimens, research on the species represented is inconclusive, but a few things were noted about them nevertheless.
Young Biidama Lalas
Grow very small, bead-like fruits. Tend to grow in groups with multiple very thin, slightly hairy stems per root ball. The plants grew slightly over the course of the expedition, as did their fruits, but they were not determined to have yet reached maturity during the length of the expedition.
This plant was a new discovery. It has yet to be found anywhere else, so the dearth of available specimens, particularly matured ones, to study the new species by was sorely disappointing to the expedition.
Various Small Kokokabu
The discovered tubers have yet to be properly categorized, but they were identified as belonging to the Kokokabu family. Given the size of the plants, it was determined they had yet to reach maturity like many of the other small plants.
The young Kokokabu were hard and not yet edible. The leaves, however, did have a somewhat minty taste.
Young Sukatil
A Crescent Minoria Dimension Spotil variant that had not been spotted before. Produced a hard, glass-like fruit with lots of air bubbles in it.
Young Swirlana
To the right of the Paepa Lantan variant. Though a new discovery, not much was able to be determined about it during the time allotted to the expedition, as the forecasted static storm was moving in sooner than expected and the crew had to pack. It was, nevertheless, given a name. Study is underway to determine possible relatives, and another team has pinpointed a few potential candidates.
Unnamed Vine
To the right of the Paepa Lantan tree variant, north of young Swiralana. Like the young Swirlana, the time allotted to study the specimen exceeded that of the time available to expedition, especially given the changing weather conditions. Debate over the name and determination of any potential relatives are still underway.
Explorations in the recently discovered Air Sea have revealed previously unknown areas. The place where these flowers have been found has been dubbed the "Air Sea Sanctum." It is believed to have housed the Guardians in times past, but since has been overrun with various vines and plants. That said, some areas seem a little too well-kept to have lain abandoned for millennia... Or is the flora here simply good at spacing itself? Much to consider yet.
Sanctia Mamolia
The primary specimen of the expedition, the Sanctia Mamolia is a previously undiscovered member of the Mamolia family. As is typical of Mamolia, a corolla of leaves shields a delicate flower within. The leaves are strong and durable, though not very elastic, and squeak when pulled taut like a kind of rubbery substance. Though they don't taste like much except to give off a faint blueberry-like fragrance when chewed in their natural environment, leaving them somewhere dry for just a few moments, especially at low altitude, reveals a much more vibrant, candy-like blueberry flavor. The base softens when dry, allowing it to be properly chewed and eaten. The tail end has a more thin, veiny texture that becomes more pronounced the longer it is left to dry, which will take over and flatten out the rounder base given time.
The petals experience a similar flavor change between being consumed in their natural environment vs when dried at low altitude. They are rather hard when wet, and not very flexible, but become softer when exposed to air. Eaten in their natural environment, they will soften in the mouth and release a brief burst of pinkish flavor before dissolving altogether. Eaten when dry, its flavor is positively radiant--literally, as the ones who sampled it really did release a flash of light from their entire body upon putting a petal in their mouth for a few seconds. Researchers lack the proper terminology for what exactly "pinkish" and "radiant" mean as far as tastes go, but consuming a dried petal makes the recipient feel stronger. It is unknown if this effect is only temporary, or simply becomes naturalized over time. Trying to eat a second petal shortly after consuming one will cause the petal to react to the energy of the first one and be bounced away as if by a forcefield, the effect of which will become brighter if attempted a second time. A third attempt will simply cause the petal to dissolve. This effect does eventually wear off, though the second petal will not produce a violent burst of light like the first one, it will rejuvenate the one who consumes it in a similar way that the first one did.
Others
The other flowers discovered on the expedition to the Air Sea Sanctum were the Kliminia (left pillar), Twin Vinia (right pillars), Lila Dangalia (right of left pillar), Lila Tionge (left of upper right pillar and nearest to the left of bottom pillar), Flota Lilian (bottom left and right) and the Submarina (bottom middle).
The Kliminia, Lila Tionge, Flota Lilian and Submarina are all Varia Marias, a fact which challenges previously held beliefs about the nature of these group of flowers. Or perhaps, sheds light on the nature of the sanctum.
While it was previously believed that there could only be one type of Varia Maria per a given area, discoveries in past years have shown the truth of the matter to be a little more complicated. The theory was adjusted to redefine what counted as an area, given the complicated nature of Varia Marias especially on the Fuline islands.
Even with this adjusted theory, finding four different thriving Varia Marias in one location was unexpected, as they tend to be competitive for dominion over a given area and discourage growth of rivals nearby.
Kliminia
Kliminias are originally from the Great Buddy Forest in Wing Alayna, and were not initially categorized as Varia Maria until the definition of a Varia Maria's area was redefined to allow for multiple species per continent, generally separated by these areas. They are easily domesticated and will grow given just about any pole or stick in the ground. They thrive with access to lots of light, so in their native environment they tend to grow in areas of shallow canopy towards the upper story.
They are especially palatable, though their roots have a numbing but bland licorice-like flavor. The stem and leaves, especially closer to the base, also retain a little bit of this flavor, becoming fainter the higher up a sample is taken and coming in at more of a delay. They are not so unpalatable as to be out of the question as an addition to salads, but they function more as garnish than any strong flavoring agent.
Lila Tionge
A previously undiscovered Varia Maria of unknown origin. It is not thought to be native to the Air Sea Sanctum. It may be a wandering sea flower similar to a seafaring Mamolia, and sketches from sailing expeditions may confirm this theory. Its natural habitat has yet to be determined.
However, the sanctum does seem to have had an influence on the Lila Tionges found growing there. Their petals have taken on a similar sheen to that of the Sanctia Mamolia. When rehomed in ordinary seawater, especially outside the dimension, it quickly loses this sheen. They are very sensitive to dry air when in the sanctum state, but rehoming them in natural seawater makes them robust enough to withstand beaching for much longer.
They are not especially palatable when eaten in the sanctum, though the roots have a similar numbing effect to Kliminia roots. Dried outside the sanctum in similar conditions to the Sanctia Mamolia petals, the leaves will produce similar bursts of energy when consumed and respond in the same general manner Sanctia Mamolia petals do to eating more than one of them. However, they do not give the same feeling of invigoration that Sanctia Mamolia petals do. This is thought to be because Sanctia Mamolia petals contain a fair concentration of Ultiminium, the mineral which enables the Ultimate Tea to have as much power as it does, whereas sanctum-affected Lila Tionge leaves do not contain enough of it to affect the psyche nearly as much.
The petals, on the other hand, stayed clumped together in the sanctum, and became like dry leaves when in Wing Alayna, acting similar to the tail ends of Sanctia Mamolia leaves, but without their durability. They did have a fair raspberry-like flavor, however.
Flota Lilian
Flota Lilians are usually known to be found around the coasts of Reline Ah and some of its islands, as well as here and there in the Reline Ah dimension. They were among some of the biggest surprises to be seen floating around peacefully with what might ordinarily be considered "rivals"--the Lila Tionge and Dangalia, even if we assume it doesn't count Kliminia for not competing as directly for water-based nutrients. It may be that Flota Lilians are not as competitive as other Varia Maria, or perhaps this discovery may mean a recategorization is in order.
Flota Lilian petals are sweet, with a slight numbing effect that is more pronounced when it is sampled in the sanctum, though the overall flavor is still slightly muted. They have a faint rubbery texture that is also more pronounced in the specimens found growing in the sanctum.
Flota Lilians do not respond well to being brought to Wing Alayna. Ordinarily they would simply shut their blossoms until transferred to water and then mysteriously find their way away from the continent, but Flota Lilians that have been exposed to the sanctum's power either must be brought to Reline Ah to re-naturalize or brought gradually to Wing Alayna to give them time to adjust. Flota Lilians transferred to Wing Alayna via teleporation released a violent burst of white light before mysteriously reappearing right where researchers found them. From this, we can deduce that they do not respond well to the sudden shift in environment after becoming imbued with the sanctum's energy.
The lilypad and roots have a similar numbing taste to Lila Tionge, but once naturalized outside the sanctum, they will instead have a more leafy/grassy taste.
Of the two specimens pictured, the bottom left actually appears to be a crossbreed between a Lila Dangalia and a Flota Lilian. The two specimens have similar properties other than their differences in appearance. The leaves on the bottom right one had somewhat similar properties to Sanctia Mamolia leaves, but only when in the sanctum. Once naturalized outside it, they returned to having a slightly muddy, grassy taste.
Lila Dangalia
One of the two non-Varia Marias pictured, despite their similarities and apparent ability to crossbreed, throwing into the question their categorization as a non-Varia Maria in the first place, though the category is not strictly defined by those in the group's ability or inability to crossbreed, even with species outside the category.
Lila Dangalias are a quite old flower, usually found among coral reefs in the Koraln Sea and sporting bright pink petals. The further they get from their native environment, the more their petals turn translucent and lose a lot of their flavor. Their flavor was the least affected by an environment change, though the petals and leaves did have a slightly rubbery texture in the sanctum that they lost outside it, as well as a faint numbing taste it lost to become all but tasteless when brought to Wing Alayna. Specimens reintroduced to their native coral reefs did recover their natural pink color, but their lack of flavor remained unchanged. Researchers expect to check back with the re-introduced specimens to see if this has changed at a later date.
Lila Dangalias native to the coral reefs have a sweet, if not robust flavor to their petals. In times past they were used for Tea Festival tea, but they have since been left to repopulate after taking a hit from a few too many festivals. Though the main ingredient in Lila Dangalia tea is actually the roots, which are long and abundant per specimen. They infuse the water they absorb with a faint, but pleasant sweetness and delicate vegetable umami, a lot like a lotus root. The roots were also cooked and served as snacks during the festival, but the flowers have since been left to repopulate.
Submarina
Aquatic Varia Maria native to the Buddy Ocean off the coast of Wing Alayna. Their presence here at the sanctum seems to indicate that the waters in the sanctum may be a kind of "safe waters" that all of the usually competitive species feel well-adapted to, and perhaps the species don't compete because of the readily available resources. Or, perhaps the changes to the flowers as a result of being in the sanctum has something to do with their coexistence.
The Submarina is among those least affected by the sanctum, perhaps because of the natural bubble that protects its blossom. The leaves and stem had a similar rubbery numbing taste as several of the others, though not as strongly. Like the Dangalia, this effect quickly fades when it is reintroduced to its natural habitat.
The petals have a mild sweetness, and the natural taste of the stem and leaves is rather grassy.
Twin Vinia
A rare vine normally found on certain islands between Fuline Ah and Reline Ah. Also called Yakusoku-zuru, or "Vine of Promise," this vine is thought to have have been brought from an island closer to Reline Ah to one further south as a reunion of two previously isolated groups, the Dancer Buddys and the Flower Buddys, and to symbolize the reintroduction of Flower Buddys into JI proper.
It has a sharp taste one could define as bitter. The main difference in the sanctum specimens is their rubbery texture.
When boiled into tea, it retains some of this bitterness, but exposure to heat also brings out more of a peppermint-like taste.
The Fire Dimension is usually very dark, and recording images of flora there can be difficult. However, there is an area on the border of the dimension and the sea where the sun shines through brilliantly, illuminating the volcanic coast in vermillion hues.
The Shandelia was one of the first recorded specimens on this venture to the border of the dimension where the light shines. It has a natural warmth to it when touched, and light pulsates gently through the plant, even in the dark. The plant has a dry feeling to it, but it is very much alive. It gives off seeds and pollen like sparks of fire, drifting gently in the wind. Thus far there has only been one discovered, but a more thorough survey of the coast is expected to turn up more.
Its branches have a distinct savory spice to them, almost like curly fries, strongest at the tips and getting more woody towards the base. The seeds taste a bit like fennel.
Hibana Grass is quite warm, and likewise glows in the dark. They sizzle when put in water and have a smoky hot flavor. The latter aspect is more pronounced in its seedheads.
Since the discovery of the Blua Elektraika, an ambitious project was undertaken to create crossbreeds with it, first with the Razzisky Zazzleflower in order to help ground the unstable dimension it came from, which resulted in the successful creation of a new variety, the Razzisky Lita. The next ambitious project involved creating a crossbreed with a flower that was only rumored to exist, the Gumidro Sweetflower. The first step, of course, would be proving its existence. This year's bountiful expeditions returned one specimen of the previously fabled flower, and the first and largest hurdle to the project was complete. Then came the challenge of actually managing to create a new species. Blua Elektraikas, sometimes also simply called Bleukas, make their home in Stormana Zones, where lightning flashes are a near-constant. The undertaking would require the cooperation of someone capable of navigating this difficult cloudscape, and very often, these experts are as hyperactive as the lightning strikes themselves. But, our botanical researchers rose to the challenge, and managed to devise a way for these hyperactive lightning sprites to propagate the flower the team had only dreamed of until now.
Fragments from the specimen were sprinkled liberally over a Stormana Zone where the Bleukas grew, which in itself was an undertaking, as first a suitable Electric Buddy had to be both found and equipped with the duster. Between the wind and lashing rain in the zone, it was uncertain if any of the fragments would reach their destination. But, when the sun shone in the clouds, and our tour guide managed to figure out how to use the capture device we'd given him, a beautiful picture emerged...
Bleuka Gumidros are radiant with electric energy. Like their mother species, the Gumidro Sweetflower, they produce a sweet, gummy-like substance at the center of their flowers. The catch is that the pointed centerpiece acts as a lightning rod, and when it is struck, it turns to glass. However, this is known to slowly reverse over time, so perhaps if plucked and left somewhere safe from lighting, one may get to enjoy a sweet treat instead of a glass sculpture.
The Time Dimension found in the legend of Karuha and Helia has long been the subject of debate as to its existence, along with Time Buddys themselves. While the expedition has not found conclusive evidence of the latter, they are proud to announce the discovery of a dimension that looks exactly as the legend described- full of purple, quartz-like pillars. Even more surprising to the expedition however was the fact that the purple crystal sand that fills certain areas seems to be able to support some kind of plant life.
The crew was excited at the discovery and speculated, from the similarity of the plant to one of the Queen's scepters, that perhaps this was not a completely unknown dimension, and in fact had been known to be real all along and even used as a foraging ground. These speculations have been submitted to the Queen for review. The machine operators back at the palace state they had a "good feeling" about the dimensional coordinates they sent the team to, and the team suspects there may be more information to uncover yet.
The Orbal Stafflant bears a fruit with a shiny, pearl-like sheen. The fruit is quite hard, but shavings from it can be used to give sweetness and a pearly sheen to tea. It does not melt on its own, but is harmless and ingested, much like edible gold. Tests on the rest of the plant revealed little to no discernable taste in the stem and leaves, but the roots appear to be rather bitter. The younger specimens do have slightly sweet stems and the roots have not yet gone bitter, but are about as tasteless as the mature plants' stem and leaves are.
Due to its similarity to one of the Queen's scepters, hypotheses abound about what sort of properties the plant may have. The running theory is that the fruit has a high concentration of Ultiminium, and may be a key source for the Ultimate Tea if tests can give the theory more credence.
Another theory states that the plant may be the key to manipulating matter and energy in JI as the Queen can, and some tests of wavelengths given off by the fruit do seem to indicate it may have properties conducive to such a goal. The team plans to submit a full report of their findings and hopes to get some answers as to the nature of the dimension, the plant itself, and what connection these may bear to the Queen's abilities.
After the stabilization of the Razzisky dimension and the subsequent dissemination of samples from the native flora, some of the samples escaped the hands of researchers and have ended up in some strange places. One of them was a cliffside on the border between the Air Sea and the Fire Dimension, as evidenced by the hydrothermal vents. Though, due to the nature of the Air Sea, they may be more appropriately categorized as geysers.
The Watabana is believed to be a crossbreed between a native Air Sea species and a Razzisky Zazzleflower, most likely the second to be discovered specimen, which has since been dubbed the Razzisky Sunia. It likely owes its Air Sea side to the Ringia Bubblia or another species of the Bubblia genus, as evidenced by some similarities in its overall structure.
Due to the extreme conditions the plant was found in, approaching it was difficult. It seems to draw its energy from the sheer power of the geysers it was found by, and it cooled the area around it by a significant degree. It seems to rely on this as a large part of its nutrition, as the surrounding substrate was very rocky. The rest of its nutrition likely comes from these rocks, which are believed to be the result of the plant's effect on the environment, as the rock patch eventually tapers off to a smooth surface.
These seismic shifts do not come as too much of a surprise to researchers, given just how unstable and hostile the Razziskies' dimension of origin was when first discovered, causing a state of emergency when it was found on Gongonne Wrongol Island and eventually spread towards continental Fuline Ah, Laykia Layna, Songol Suun Island and some of the other Fuline islands. Though the dimension was eventually stabilized, it should be noted that Razzisky Zazzleflowers fed on the high energy that was then found in the dimension. The other extant crossbreed, the Razzisky Lita, also relies on sources of high energy to flourish, in its case lightning, so it does not come as a surprise that this crossbreed also requires extremes to thrive. Judging from just how barren the landscape is around this newly discovered Razzisky relative, it appears to be right at home, since Razazzle dimension land was also extremely parched and lacking in much ground-based nutrition to begin with.
Researchers will continue to be monitoring the Watabana to see what other kinds of shifts it may cause in its immediate environment, particularly whether it will turn the once barren landscape into a habitable one, if only for its relatives.
Its fibrous petals look quite soft, so in the event the team is able to collect a sample, there is hope it could be used as a cotton-like substance, if its energy can be safely discharged first.
The taste of the rest of the plant is unknown, but from the data researchers could obtain, it is theorized to have similar flavor compounds to licorice.
Deeper exploration of the Reline Ah dimension (otherwise known as the Flower Buddy dimension) has revealed the existence of a misty land heated by geothermal heat on the border between it and the Fire Dimension. One plant that thrives here is the Dangoya Mi, or Manmo Chimiya. Its fruit, warmed by the ground, is piping hot and has a sticky consistency like that of a rice cake. When dried and fired, it can be drawn on, and residents of the land have been seen using them as decorations that way. As its taste is also similar to a sticky rice cake, it can be enjoyed as a savory item as well. The leaves that grow sheltering the fruit prove to be an artful decoration whether for use in serving or framing the dried fruit.
Directly adjoining the Storm Dimension from beneath, there appears to be a previously unknown area of air sea. The air is so thick here it acts similar to a low-density ocean.
The first species to be recorded in this new area is the Bubblia. It would appear that the plant's smaller bubbles move about the surface of its larger one.
In some specimens, these bubbles followed a strict ring pattern, gliding about the surface of the nucleus bubble as a whole with the angle of this movement changing at random intervals. Whether the bubbles move clockwise or counter-clockwise seems to be connected to the water-air currents, switching when there's a shift in the current.
In other, larger specimens, these satellite bubbles were observed to each have their own path, which like the previously documented specimens, only switched their clockwise/counter-clockwise direction when the air-water currents shifted.
The the first type of specimens have been dubbled Ringia Bubblias. These were observed to have smaller central bubbles than the larger specimens with freer satellites.
Whether Ringia Bubblias are their own separate species or merely a juvenile version of the larger specimen type is still a topic of much debate, as there has yet to be observed any juveniles behaving like the larger specimen type.
On the one hand, there has been no noticeable change in behavior pattern of the known Ringia Bubblia specimens since their initial discovery. This does not discredit the notion of a maturation event still being on the horizon for any one of them, nor does it negate the possibility that the larger specimens are genetically nonviable offshoots of the Ringia Bubblia species, as it has yet to be observed how these larger specimens reproduce.
On the other, there are many indicators that Ringia Bubblias are the descendants of the larger specimens and not the other way around. For one thing, the larger specimens show evidence of being much older than the Ringias. The large specimens often have a somewhat central position in their patch, and tend to only exist in the singular per patch. This would give credence to the idea that the Ringias are desendants.
However, it still does not explain the behavioral differences and the fact that no Ringia has been observed maturing into the larger specimen type.
One hypothesis states that the larger specimen type acts as a sort of a queen or ruler over the smaller Ringias. This would explain why there can only be one large specimen type per patch.
It is also hypothesized that each satellite bubble on the larger specimen type corresponds to the movement of a ring somewhere in the patch, but this has yet to be sufficiently backed up with evidence.
Other than these two primary specimens, there has been another feature observed in Bubblia patches, and that is the presence of one of a third type of specimen, the Perloa, in every patch.
Unlike the first two, Perloas do not appear to be too closely related to either specimen type. They grow an opaquer, solider sphere in lieu of bubble nucleus and appear to maintain petal-like bracts even after fruiting. No external flowers were observed in either of the two Bubblia specimen types, and the primary bubble in each one seemed to form almost in place of sepals just below the base of flowers. Bubblias are thought to be related to Aquabulla genus by various points of evidence, and it is currently hypothesized that Perloas may be a hybird of the Perloa Alnia and Yura Aquabulla based on its appearance. However, this is at best speculation, and it is not yet clear if there really is a direct connection between the two species, or if they merely bear a resemblance to both and have a more indirect connection to the Aquabullas, much less the Perloa Alnias.
The fruit of the Perloa is not thought to be edible, but from their shiny appearance, it is thought they could become a collector's item in the future. This difference in taste is sometimes brought up as an argument against their being closely related to the Perloa Alnia, despite them both sharing the word "Perloa" in their name.
