Plants of Nismiram


Small Plants


Elkshead (Bitena): A perennial plant sometimes grown as a food plant. Bitena are prized for their large taproots, which can grow up to 35cm (13 in.) and are highly nutritious. The large, oblong leaves are also edible, but must be cooked first to remove the bitter alkaloids that are naturally present. The bitena plant grows about 1m (40 in.) high and is very resistant to cold, as well as pests and diseases. It is usually grown from seeds, but may also be started from root divisions. The nutritional composition of bitena roots by weight is roughly 72% carbohydrate, 13% protein, and 15% fat.


Featherleaf (Deshila): A seedless, nonflowering vascular plant common in tropical and temperate regions. Deshila have triangular, finely divided leaves with a branching vein system, and reproduce by spores that are dropped from the underside of the leaves.


Kota: has many square stalks, which, in good ground, will grow waist high, having two leaves, set opposite at a joint, thinly serrated at the edges. The flowers grow in long spikes on the tops of the stalks, being small and purplish. The root creeps and spreads much in the earth. The leaves, stalks, and flowers have a pleasant and agreeable smell.


Mishtema: A perennial red coloured rhizome which creeps and increases underground. In the spring it sends up from a green, knee-high stalk, with narrow leaves. These leaves die down annually. Mishtema flowers have an aromatic smell and the bruised stem a characteristic fragrance, but the root is considered the most useful part of the plant, and must not be used under a year's growth. The root's flavor is spicy, hot and biting.


Common Koba

Scrub Moss (Mora): Scrub Moss grows throughout Losuria and has variants adapted to a stunning variety of climatic conditions. Wile the dark red stems of Scrub Moss are typically less than 10cm (4 in.) tall, some varieties have enough vascular structure to grow up to 50cm (20 in.).


Common Koba

Emberweed (Poshola): Plants in the Emberweed family are identified by their bunches of small, 5 petaled flowers, and prominent seed pods. The seeds of many types of Emberweed are the source of a potent spice and medicine. The flowers and shape of the seed pods vary from species to species. Common Emberweed has bright red flowers and seed pods are needle shaped.


Bitter Ember (Poshola Nereth): A type of Emberweed, the flowers of the Bitter Ember are brown and the seed pods are oval.


Smithspark (Kosanoba): A type of Emberweed, the flowers of Smithspark are a dark orange-red and the seed pods are bright red and curved or hook shaped.


Cinderflower (Reshova): A type of Emberweed, the flowers of the Cinderflower are dark red, nearing on black and the seed pods are spherical.


Glassweed (Renosa): A plant with tender green stalks less than knee high, commonly found on rocks that are washed by sea water. The stalks branch near the bottom, and have sundry thick and almost round leaves, of a deep green colour. The leaves are sappy, with a hot and spicy flavor. At the tops of the stalks and branches are bunches of white flowers and seeds. The root is large, white, and long, and is flavored like the leaves.


Pie-blossom

Pie-blossom (Shora Sev): A perennial plant with large, showy flowers of either white or yellow. The seeds of Pie-blossom have a thick outer coat, and therefore germinate most easily after they've passed through the digestive system of herbivorous animals. Pie-blossoma grow best in the damp depressions of lands used for pasture.


Smokeweed (Reneshila): a low perennial herb with a branching stem and growing up to about 30 centimeters long. The leaves are bifoliolate, each made up of two lance-shaped leaflets, up to 4 cm (1.5 in.) long. The leaves are hairless to lightly hairy, and the flowers grow on tall spikes with up to 35 small yellow flowers. The fruit is a fuzzy legume pod.





Trees and Shrubs


Golden Chorosa (Chorosa Shin): Large tree with a wide, fan-shaped head. Common in wet woodland valleys, swamps, uplands, and mixed broadleaf forests. Leaves dark blue-green above, lighter below, with three to five shallow, rounded lobes. The leaves turn bright orange in early fall. The flowers are bright yellow, growing in clusters wreathing the twigs before leaves appear. The fruits have a characteristic spiraling, paper-like vane, growing on long stems in groups of three. Flowers in late winter; fruits in the spring.


Sweet Chorosa (Chorosa Lin): A large domed tree, common in uplands and valleys. Very thin leaves divided into five rounded lobes. The leaves turn deep red, orange, and yellow in the fall. Flowers yellowish-green, in drooping clusters, appearing with the leaves. The pale green fruits have a wide-spiraling, paper-like vane, growing on long stems in groups of three. All Chorosa have these characteristic "corkscrews". Flowers in early spring; fruits in the fall.


Needleleaf (Dezoda): A medium to large, coniferous tree, common in uplands, bogs, and swamps. The needles soft, slender, about an inch long, bright green, in clusters of six; the needles turn bright yellow before they are shed in the fall. Separate male and female flowers, both red. The female flowers develop into small egg-shaped cones, less than an inch long, brown when mature. Flowering cones in early spring.


Common Kivena or Barrel Kivena (Kivena):
A large rounded spreading tree. Its leaves are dark green above and have six to twelve shallow, rounded lobes. The leaves turn orange or tobacco brown in the fall. The male flowers are in brownish catkins; the females in dark orange in pairs. The fruits of this tree are broad, dark red-brown nuts in very thin, paper-like outer shell. Flowers spring; nuts ripe the fall after two years.


Brush Kivena (Kivena Tefeh): A small tree or shrub, its leaves are dull gray-green above, woolly white below, usually with four shallow lobes. Common in dry and rocky ground. Its leaves turn bright yellow in fall. The fruits of this tree are small, brown-speckled nuts in a thick husk, growing in clusters. The flowers are similar to those of other varieties of Kivena. Flowers spring; kanos ripe the fall after two years.


Silver Kivena (Kivena Chil): A large broad tree, its leaves have four to six large, narrow, toothed lobes. Common in woods, lowlands and uplands. The leaves turn rich orange or brown in the fall. The male flowers are small and yellow growing in small, round catkins; the females grow in small clusters at base of leaves on same twig. The fruits of this tree are nuts, narrow, cone-shaped, and brown when ripe, with a rough, paper-like husk. Flowers in the spring; nuts ripen in the fall.


Spindle Kivena (Kivena Por): A medium-sized tree with a dense crown. Common on dry ridges and floodplains. Its leaves are thick, leathery, and have four distinct lobes. Flowers similar to those of other Kivena. The fruits of this tree are nuts, conical and brown when ripe, in a thin, leathery outer shell. Flowers in spring; nuts ripe fall after two years.


Thorn Kivena (Kivena Thil): A large tree with thin thorn-like twigs and lower branches that often sweep the ground. Common in wet places and uplands. The leaves are shiny dark green above, and have four to six deep lobes. The leaves turn yellow or brown in fall. Its flowers are like those of the Barrel Kivena. The fruits of this tree are nuts, small, conical and brown when ripe, in thin paper-like outer shells. Flowers in spring; nuts ripe fall after two years.


Common Koba

Koba: A small, deciduous tree with a broad open crown. Widely cultivated, but also common by roadsides. Fragrant flowers are white tinged with green, in clusters of three to five, appearing with the new leaves. Fruits are medium (3-4” diameter). The koba fruit is round, with a thin brown peel, cream colored flesh and three 1/2" thick, wedge shaped stones at its center, in clusters of three or four. Flowers in the spring; fruits in early autmn.


Sour Koba (Koba Nor): A small, deciduous tree with a broad open crown. Common in forest clearings and by streams and roadsides. Coarsely notched leaves are sometimes almost two-lobed. Fragrant flowers are white tinged with green or all green, in clusters of three to five, appearing with the new leaves. Fruits are small (1” diameter). The sour cauba fruit is round, with a thin brown peel, cream colored flesh and three 1/4" thick, wedge shaped stones at its center, in clusters of two or three. Flowers in the spring; fruits in late summer.


Lila: A large, spreading, deciduous tree, common in valleys and bottomlands. Dark green leaves, about five inches long, deeply notched to form two pointed lobes. Small green flowers in clusters along twigs before leaves appear. Fruits are small seeds, with a spiral-shaped tail. The bark of the Lila becomes spongy and is shed in the late fall, and is easily processed to make fibers suitable for textile production. Flowers in early spring; fruits in early spring.


Mouse Morune (Moruna Nem): A small, deciduous tree or shrub. Common in wet meadows, by streams and lakes, and in coniferous forests. The leaves are separated into three to five long, finely-toothed leaflets. The tree’s white, fluffy male catkins grow in tight clusters, turning yellow with pollen later. The male and female catkins grow on separate trees; the females are upright, stalkless, green at first, later yellow and fluffy with seed. Flowers in late winter, early spring; fruits in early spring.


Scale Bark Morune (Moruna Poth): A medium to large deciduous tree - the largest of the many narrow-leaved morunes. Common in wet places, often by streams and lakes. The compound leaves are composed of three narrow leaflets, nearly a foot long. They’re green on both sides, shiny above and paler below. Its flowers massed into long catkins, appearing with the leaves. The male catkins are white, one to two inches long; the females green, on separate trees, later yellow and fluffy with seed. Flowers in the spring; fruits in late spring.


Copperwood (Nismira): A small to medium, shrubby, deciduous tree with thin, gray-green bark, which peels away easily to reveal dark red wood. Common by streams in broadleaf forests. Flowers tiny, appearing before the nearly circular leaves. The male flowers occur in white, drooping catkins; the female flowers in small reddish catkins on same tree. Fruits are small, smooth, light brown nutlets, each cupped in a five-lobed leafy bract, in loose hanging clusters, later turning dark brown or black. Flowers in early spring; fruits in late summer.


Whiteberry (Serzoba): A medium-sized tree with smooth black bark. Common along roadsides and edges of woods. The leaves are dull green above and paler beneath, heart-shaped, with a saw-toothed edge. Yellow flowers in clusters of two to six appear with the leaves or just before. Clusters of three small, sweet, berry-like fruits, turning from bright green to white when ripe, unless eaten by birds first. Each berry has a small, inedible stone at the center. Flowers in early spring; fruits in the summer.


False Whiteberry (Serzoba Zel): Medium-sized tree with an oblong crown, common many places except where particularly wet or dry. The leaves are similar to those of the genuine Serzoba, except that they have a smooth edge. The smooth dark gray bark easily splits to expose a pale, white inner bark. The flowers are yellow, growing in small, round clusters. The crushed leaves and bark have a distinctive scent of Serzoba. The sour, cream colored fruits of this tree grow in clusters of six to ten off of a common stem, each with a small, seed at the center. Consumption of the fruits will cause nausea and vomiting. Flowers in late spring; fruits in late summer.