Sweet-roots

Sweet-roots are perennial plants found throughout the warmer areas of the vast steppe that covers much of northern Dragonía bordering the great desert to the south, particularly in the sparsely populated region of Þrihakía to the east. It produces clusters of tiny, light-pink flowers during summertime and later on small, rust-coloured seeds, and is fed on by Rekan Birds and various rodents.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

Sweet-roots require sandy soil and plenty of sunlight, and are well adapted to the semi-arid climate at the southern edge of the plains.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The plant's leaves and taproot are both edible, with the former having a tangy taste while the latter is sweet, and has been eaten by the centaur-like Knárs for millennia and the humanoid Þrihaks for centuries, though in different ways. Knárs eat the leaves as a seasonal snack, while the Þrihaks dig up the plant primarily for the root, which is usually either roasted when in season and eaten with rekan bird meat or dried for later use and added into omelets and milk soup.
Þrihaks sometimes sell dried sweet-roots to the Mörkels on the Plain of Kings to the north, as the plant is rather rare in that region aside from the southern part of the kingdom of Kóvúrt, but its use is considered uncouth -barbaric even- by many Mörkel nobles compared to nilla berries, which are endemic to Fökan Hills on the southwestern Plain of Kings. On the other hand, the leaves are used by both communities for traditional medicine, and among the easternmost Þrihak tribes to flavour fermented milk.

Average Intelligence

About as smart as a red sorrel.

Origin/Ancestry

Northern Dragonía