Evernight Aloe

I have always been confused as to why the Golotian were so familiar with the concept of plants despite having lived in a lightless abyss for who knows how long.
But now that I have seen a plant that blossoms in the eternal night, my confusion has only begun to grow.

Evernight Aloes are strange and unusual plants native to the Shifting Lands, where they grow in the extensive cave systems located beneath the region's surface.
As these caves -like most other caves- are shrouded in perpetual darkness, it is no wonder that Evernight Aloes don't require sunlight for their continued survival. Sunlight exposure is even outright harmful to these plants and causes them to shrivel up and die, should the exposed last for more than a handful of minutes.
The exact manner in which these plants manage to sustain themselves in the absence of light is barely researched due to the inaccessibility of their natural habitat.
Yet scholars commonly refer to this process as either as "Skiasynhtesis" or "Dark Feeding", given that these terms elegantly combine the prevalent theory that Evernight Aloes feed off the surrounding shadows with the fact the finer details of this process remain both figuratively and literally shrouded in darkness.

/*"Vampiric flower???"*/

Basic Information

Anatomy

Evernight Aloes are short-stemmed plants, with thick, fleshy leaves, whose color ranges from a light grey to jet-black.
Both the upper and lower surface of the leaves are covered in small knob-like protrusion, which secretes a viscous, yellowish sap when pierced with a needle.
Additionally, the margin of the leaves is also lined with bone-white thorns, which slowly move in an irregular manner, which creates a characteristic disharmonic grinding sound that is referred to as the "Evernight's Lullaby".

Genetics and Reproduction

Evernight Aloes generally spread through the creation of offsets, which results in the formation of large subterranean clusters of these plants, which due to their disharmonic sound production are known as "Evernight Bands".
At irregular intervals, the plants will create a set of six elongated stalks within their center, which are all tipped with black-colored flowers that release a pungent smell reminiscent of the body odor of a soggy woolly rhino.
This smell will attract a great variety of subterranean creatures, which then will pollinate the flower during their attempts to feed off the flower's nectar. After pollination, the flowers will transform int a thorn-lined capsule which will release 12- 16 sickle-shaped seeds that attach themselves to passing by creatures and thereby spread throughout the winding tunnels of the Depths.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

/*

Why does my drink crunch?

*/

The gelatinous flesh of the plant, as well as the yellowish sap secreted by its leaves, are common ingredients for various dishes and beverages created by the Golotian.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

While they are mostly confined to the caves of the Shifting Lands, Evernight Aloes have also been able to spread to other subterranean locations, such as the caverns beneath the southeastern parts of the Coast of Thorns, thanks to the powerful spacial distortions prevalent in the Shifting Lands.

Scientific Name

Aloa nocturnis

Lifespan

20 - 25 years

Average Height

60 - 100 cm

Nonsenical Messages

Your handwriting reads like the leaves of an Evernight.

Given the fact that the small protrusions on the leaves of an Evernight Aloe have some similarity to the braille-like script of the Golotian, young Golotians often amuse themselves by attempting to read the "messages" written onto the leaves' surface.
As these writings naturally are nothing more than senseless gibberish the Golotians commonly refer to the plant as Gogbo baglu gobgo ("Leaves of Gobbledygook").

Song of the Depths

Given that the "Evernight's Lullaby" has some acoustic similarities to the "Abyssal Melodie" produced by Chthonian Spirals, it is often assumed that both phenomena are somehow related to each other or at least are results of vaguely similar conditions.
This assumption is further substantiated by the fact that the proximity of a Laurasian Artifact, which is created from several Chthonian Spirals via the arcane art of Fossilcraft, causes an Evernight Aloe to intensify its disharmonic grinding.