Brùdda - Tongue pot

"Master Grimgol how much honeydew will we need for the initiation?"

"Well, this year three goblins want to grow up."

"Ah, so we need three thorn sticklebacks. And to pickle them well, it should be at least half a jug full, right?"

"Very right, young Atrox, very right."

Conversation between a 3rd class druid and a 1st class druid
during the preparation of the initiation rite of the Âdocôdix -

Brùdda is one of the most important plants on Brictaelgis. It grows mainly on the slopes of the Drûddâci at an altitude of around 2,000 to 3,200 meters and gave its name to an entire vegetation zone of the mountains. It owes its own - tongue pot - to the rich supply of nectar inside and the pointed petals. Their nectar forms the basis for honeydew - an essential ingredient for the Initiation rite of the goblins.

Brudda vegetation in the greenlings
by Blue Fairy 74 - Drawing recreated by MJ

Brùdda - Nectar basket

Physiology

The plant belongs to the perennial nightshade family and occurs naturally mainly in the temperate regions of the Brictaelgian Mountains.
It grows depending on the altitude of the green plants and can reach a height of between 70 and 90 centimetres. Its four to six herbaceous, frayed leaves grow in length according to the inflorescence and envelop the rising flower like a cloak.
The flower consists of a yellow lantern with orange dots, from which orange-pink petals protrude. Pink stamens grow out of the center of the flower, which attract insects. The style is located inside the flower and is surrounded by sweet nectar.

At a glance

Scientific Name:
Lili BRUDDASA milaestis
Common Name: Brùdda - Tongue pot
Lineage: Tongue flower
Origin: Nectar rich
Habitat: Drûddâci - Greenlings
Life expectancy: perennial
Height: 70 cm to 90 cm, depending on altitude
Appearance: herbaceous leaves, yellow lantern cover with orange-pink petals, yellow pear-shaped fruits
Diet: calcareous soils
Reproduction: Root rhizomes, fruits
Use: Honeydew, oil from fruits

Growth and reproduction

Brùdda reproduces through flat rhizomes or through the fruits that grow inside the lantern if they are not harvested. The plant grows best in calcareous soils and can withstand temperatures between -10° and 25° Celsius.
During Brictâdi and Lârisâdi, when the first spring rains have passed over the green plants, the leaves of the tongue pot begin to push upwards, tightly fitting and enveloping the delicate, still green flower lantern. Only when the lantern has reached its size of 20 to 30 centimeters after about 25 days, do the leaves fall sideways to the ground and lie like a rosette around the flower stem.
As the leaves fall off, the lantern turns yellow within a week and orange spots develop. At the same time, the orange-pink petals and stamens push out.

Cross sections of flower and fruit by Blue Fairy 74

Inside the lantern, a nectar reservoir forms around the style, which can hold up to half a liter.
The tongue pot blooms for about a week and emits a sweet lily-like scent to attract tongue beaks and bumble bugs, which are rewarded with a nectar that tastes like vanilla and honey as the stamens are fertilized.
After fertilization, a fruiting body develops inside the lantern, which is about ten centimeters long and gradually absorbs the nectar like an amniotic sac and stores it for the winter.
During Lântâdi, the lanterns fall off, revealing the yellow and orange-dotted fruits, which are scattered by the winds, rolling along the ground, waiting for the next Brictaelgian spring to germinate or be eaten by moorhens.

Use

The goblins who live in the Greenling cities have specialized in the cultivation and use of Brùdda and work mainly as nectar collectors, bugkeepers, fruit pickers or oil millers.

Even though Brùdda grows so high in the Greenling mountains, it is the most productive plant for flower nectar. During the flowering season, Âdocodix nectar collectors tap the sap and fill it into small, handy barrels. In the Greenling bug keeping, the nectar is processed by bumble bugs into honeydew and from there sold to druids across Brictaelgis. Druids use the honeydew to pickle the Blue Thorn stickleback, a very powerful magic mushroom.
The ripe fruits are collected by pickers and the oil they contain is pressed out of the fruits in oil mills. The oil has a light vanilla aroma and is used in Brictaelgian cuisine to refine sweet salads and cakes. Soap makers use the oil to make perfumes, creams or soaps because of its moisturizing and intensive nourishing properties.

Bumble Bug by Blue Fairy 74

Honeydew

In the nectar bugkeeping, the nectar is fed to bumble bugs, which are kept like bees.
Bumble bugs also build honeycombs into which they fill the secreted honeydew for their brood. The honeycombs are spun and the thin, lemon-gold colored honeydew is filled into jars. The contents can be kept for over five years if stored properly.
A half-liter jar of honeydew costs 2 Aelgis. About 5,000 jars are sold each year, making honeydew one of the region's most important export goods.

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In response to Basic Dragon's unofficial challenge

Botanica