Stay well away frem the woods, my child, as it's not jus' the wolves that will kill ye. If ye make one wrong move in this here forest, every damned flak tree in a mile will be out for yer blood. Dare ye to step on one of their roots, and they'll fire off a dozen needles at ye in less than a second. Ye'd be dead before ye know it.
— Father's Warning
Flak trees resemble pines in many ways, especially in appearance. They have sharp, needlelike leaves made of an incredibly hard substance. These leaves stay green throughout all four seasons, and have two primary uses. The first is seed dispersal. Unlike any other type of plant, flak trees spread their seeds by discharging needle-like leaves at almost 240 miles per hour. They usually hit the ground after travelling a mile, in which the leaf punctures the soil and begins growing into a new flak tree.
The second use of a flak tree's leaf is defense. If a creature larger than a fox touches their bark or roots, the flak tree will discharge a burst of 12-18 needles into the percieved threat. The sound produced by the volley of needles alerts other flak trees, which also target the trespasser. In a forest of flak trees, it's nearly impossible to escape once a single tree is angered.
If any creature, no matter their size, attempts to cut or drill through the wood- they too will be fired upon. This has given small animals like birds and squirrels the opportunity to nest on the branches, in which larger creatures will steer clear of. Some species have evolved to exclusively nest in flak trees, and would go extinct without them.
Habitat
This particular species of tree is found across central Alterra. It can survive in cold or hot environments, but it only seems to thrive in temperate forests. Flak trees require little space since it is necessary that they are surrounded by other members of their species.
Too much rain can also jeopardize flak trees, as an excess amount of water could force the tree to create too much sap, blocking its bark and preventing it from percieving threats. Fortunately, many species of birds have adapted to live off of this sap, and even bring the trees large amounts of water to speed up production in a form of primitive agriculture.
For a currently unknown reason, the needlelike leaves of flak trees capture large amounts of heat during the summetime. At outside temperatures above 85 degrees Farenheit, the leaves become so hot that they can cause severe burns on their victims' flesh. For this reason, many large creatures migrate to grasslands during the summer to avoid flak trees, as a single volley could easily burn and bleed an unsuspecting creature to death.
Exploitation
Flak trees have many valuable resources that can be exploited by sapient creatures, but it is extremely dangerous to harvest such commodities. Flak wood is extremely sturdy, and seems to have waterproofing within its bark. For this reason, the best ships are often made of said wood.
The needlelike leaves of these trees is used to sew and can be made into arrows or crossbow bolts by a skilled fletcher. Some armorers have even made chainmail out of the needles, but those who wear the armor could easily be boiled alive if it gets to hot.
Sap extracted from flak trees has many uses, such as transmutation. Alchemists have been known to transmute the trees' sap into valuable amber, which as of recent has lowered the price of amber considerably. Due to the sheer amount of sap that flak trees can produce, syrup is now an extremely widespread food product.
A year ago, I would have literally killed someone to have some syrup on my pancakes. But now I can get a jug of syrup for a cheaper price than a slice of bread! I've heard that the working conditions for sap gatherers are extremely dangerous, but what's even more dangerous is me on an empty stomach.— Serenithian Peasant
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