Mackerel Tree

Mackerel trees are a variety of smooth-barked deciduous tree native to Rostral C, especially the islands claimed by the Ovinex Island Tribes. The mackerel tree is best known for its flexible body, silvery bark, and soft wood. Slices of mackerel tree wood are considered a delicacy in Native Ovinex cuisine, being largely considered inedible by non-ovinex sentients.

Basic Information

Anatomy

A typical adult mackerel tree stands up to 25' tall. The canopy is hemispherical and comprised of broad, dark green fronds. The trunk, limbs, and boughs of the mackerel tree are covered in smooth, striated, silvery gray bark the consistency of paper. This bark, along with the whitish wood of the tree when sliced and the flavor of the slices when prepared in sea water, gives the tree its name.

Ecology and Habitats

Mackerel trees are more resistant to soil salinity than most trees of their type, but are not as resistant as the mangroves that ring the Ovinex Island Tribes territories; thus, they are typically found further inland where soil salinity is determined more by the composition of rain runoff than the surrounding ocean. Mackerels are thirsty plants and thrive in tropical and sub-tropical environments with ample humidity, typically where the Western Tesseract overlaps with other tesseracts. The largest population of mackerel trees to be found under the Manifold Sky are found in the territories of the Ovinex Island Tribes and the Rostran Archipelago Confederacy.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Too soft to be used for most structures larger than lean-tos, the wood of the mackerel tree is most commonly employed in decorative elements where the moisture can be easily evaporated out of the wood by baking. Pieces of sun-bleached mackerel driftwood are often found littered on beaches throughout Rostral C, where they may ultimately find use as stock for whittling or woodcut print blocks. Fresh or soaked lengths of mackerel wood retain great flexibility, making them useful as materials for basketweaving or in the construction of warped wood furniture.
Among the ovinex - especially Native Ovinex - mackerel wood also finds use as a foodstuff. While the wood the mackerel tree is by no means poisonous, it cannot be easily broken down by the hominid digestive tract. The wood, while soft, is still tough enough to be unpallatable by non-ovinex standards. The ovinex, on the other hand, are descended from ruminants and have no issue with eating the wood once properly prepared.
In ovinex cuisine, logs of mackerel wood are sliced into thin 'steaks' and simmered in seasoned seawater for maximum softness. The cook must resist the urge to sear or smoke steaks - as one might an actual fillet of mackerel - because this would cook off the moisture that keeps the wood supple enough to enjoy. Common accoutrements to mackerel steaks include deglazed berry sauces, fresh greens, and fishes. Salt-dried mackerel wood slices can be used as emergency reserve rations or shaved thin and used by ovinex in a similar fashion to the way in which a Rostran chef might use bonito flakes. The Native Ovinex have also experimented with pickling chunks of mackerel wood for use as a topping.

Geographic Distribution

• Rostral Tesseract

Related Ethnicities

• Civil Ovinex
• Native Ovinex