Quryiwsa (/ˈqurjiwsa/)

A grassy plant which bears resemblance to Terran wheat, quryiwsa is found only on the island of Amhumap. One of the most successful plants on the harsh expanse of Amhumap, it is also the most recognizable, taking over the entire plain whenever possible. Due to its adaptations to this extreme environment, however, it fares poorly away from the island; grown elsewhere on the planet of Niskhisima, it grows far slower and tends to have smaller yields, and away from the planet it does not grow at all.
Instantly recognizable due to fact that living plants glow, quryiwsa is extremely high in Vita. The fact that it grows significantly slower in areas of the planet not as high in Vita content as their native range, and not at all when taken away from the planet altogether, suggests that Vita plays an essential role in the growth of the plant.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Quryiwsa is a descendant from an unknown grassy plant which evolved to somewhat resemble wheat. It initially grows fairly shallow roots, focusing first on structure needed to reproduce. After that, however, it will begin growing deep running roots, complete with energy stores.

Apart from its roots, the visible part of quryiwsa consists of tall shoots, which reach as tall as waist-height before sprouting small flowers, which glow brightly. After a brief period of time, the plant has either successfully been pollinated by insects, or else has self-pollinated. The flowers are lost and replaced by the quryiwsa's characteristic grains, which are not awned but bare husks. Due to their high Vita-content, the kernels on a living plant glow, and quite brightly even in less Vita-rich environments, just like the flowers.

Eventually the kernels are dropped, and the stems die off. If no Vita overflow destroys the plant, it will begin the process anew, growing new shoots, then flowers, and then kernels again. As it retains its roots, and has deepened said roots over the time it took for the kernels to drop, it regrows before the seeds have a chance to grow. Instead, they will sit protected in the soil until the next overflow comes and wipes out all grown plants, leaving an opportunity for the next generation to take their place.

Genetics and Reproduction

Quryiwsa has evolved from a wind-pollinated plant, and has made little adaptations despite relying on insects to pollinate it. Its flowers are still small and dully colored, but nonetheless manage to draw in insects thanks to the fact that they glow. Should a plant fail to be (successfully) pollinated, it will simply self-pollinate to carry on its lineage. Kernels containing the seeds are grown rapidly and dropped in short time.
Dropped seeds will not grow until they've experienced an overflow of Vita, which signals that grown plants have (likely) all died off, thus freeing resources for a new generation to take their place. Away from Amhumap, the process can also be triggered via careful manual application of Vita by a Vita-Touched.

Growth Rate & Stages

Starting out as small but tough and resilient seeds, quryiwsa doesn't start growing until an overflow of Vita has come by, acting as both signal and as first source of energy. Throughout the entire growth process, quryiwsa relies on Vita to keep up with its fast growth, developing from tiny seed into massive stalks in seemingly no time at all. Provided nothing kills the plant after successfully reproducing, it will die down to its roots, then start another cycle from there, regrowing its shoots to reproduce again.

Ecology and Habitats

Found only in a single flat expanse of land on a single island on a single planet, quryiwsa relies on extremely specific conditions to grow. Soil condition seems to matter little to it, as the plant grows successfully after wave of magic and wave of magic. Instead, it requires an absurdly high amount of ambient Vita to grow. In this one specific environment, however, it thrives, spread across the entire plain and rapidly regrowing whenever killed off by an overflow. It is, in fact, so successful that the fields of quryiwsa are considered part of Amhumap's standard, stable condition.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Like most plants, quryiwsa relies mostly on photosynthesis and nutrients from the soil to grow. Additionally, Vita appears to be a vital component to its growth, and is thus likely consumed in some manner, but what role it plays and how it ends up in the plant is less clear. Vita, as a magical energy, is impossible to measure in any (scientifically) reliable manner, and the natural range of quryiwsa makes things more difficult, both due to its inherent danger and due to unusual state of Vita in the area as a whole.
Aside from absorbing energy from its environment, longer-lived quryiwsa also stores food in its roots as energy stores. In the uncommon case an overflow destroys the plant above-ground but leaves the roots (mostly) untouched, it can use these stores to regrow at a pace at least as fast as a newly sprouting plant, still full of Vita.

Biological Cycle

Growing on Amhumap, quryiwsa is exposed to a very unique (and unpredictable) natural phenomenon in the form of Vita overflows, which take the shape of sudden and uncontrollable acts of magic. These acts of magic almost always kill off all grown (and growing) plants in the plain, leaving barren fields of soil behind... littered with seeds, ready to take their place. As such, these irregular but common events shape the growing cycles of the plant, to the point that seeds don't even begin growing until they've experienced an overflow.

Additional Information

Domestication

Though not domesticated, quryiwsa is grown by many niskhi, as it is important in many of their cultures. Outside of its natural range it grows poorly, however, and its yields are not comparable to Terran plants like wheat, despite the resemblance.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Quryiwsa is grown by niskhi for their grains, despite the low yields. Though they stop glowing once harvested from the plants, the kernels are supposed to still hold high amounts of Vita, which will have beneficial effects on any Vita-Touched that consumes them. These grains, known as isyihirr once harvested, are then ground into flour, and finally used to create a variety of baked goods, to be used only for special occasions.

Lifespan

Short-lived, timed on overflow cycles.

Conservation Status

Least Concern (LC): though restricted to a single, highly irregular plain, quryiwsa thrives as well as can be expected. As such, it faces no particular threat outside of the natural progression of nature.

Average Height

Waist-height (~90cm).

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Green (including flowers). Turns yellow at end of life.

Geographic Distribution

• Amhumap

Related Materials

• Isyihirr