Gyme

Gyme is a type of plant used for dyes, and for cooking as a spice. It is a flower with a deep, sea green colour, and the petals can be used to dye cloth a similar hue although most processes leave it slightly more blue than green, and the dyers of the Dyers Guild in Yvereau keep the process that allows them to preserve the true colour of the flower - known as gyme green - a closely guarded secret. As a spice, the roots of the plant are used to add heat and earthiness to a dish. The flowers of gyme have associations with long life.
Gyme is grown in the Mornesalle region, and is primarily traded in the town of Yvereau, which sits 30 miles from the capital of the region, the city of Mornesalle. Gyme is sold across the country, and is popular with the nobility and the wealthy. The dye is most commonly used in the dresses of noble women, but is also popular among the wealthy of the merchant class as despite its rarity there are no laws restricting or taxing its sale or use outwith the nobility, as there are with other rare colours. As a foodstuff, the root is dried and transported to its destination, with most passing through Mornesalle before being shipped to its final destination, but the flowers cannot be preserved over long distances. For this purpose, Yvereau has extensive fulling and dyeing industries.
The dyed cloth and dried root underpin the economy of the town and its surrounding area, and great sections of the countryside are given over to growing the plant. The root is relatively abundant, though each plant produces only a small piece that can be used for cooking, but the flowers less so - each plant only produces a handful, and to achieve a true, deep sea-green colour requires the use of many flowers. Almost every family in the town is involved in the production - most by either picking the flowers in the fields or spinning and weaving the cloth to be dyed, but others as fullers, dyers, traders and hauliers, or as pastorialists who produce wool - and the industry has become a source of pride to Yvereau's inhabitants. The plant features prominently on the town's coat of arms.

Type

Biomaterial

Taste

Spicy, Earthy

Color

Deep sea-green (flower)/Yellow (root)