Nanut (Naa-nut)

The Nanut-plant is a vine plant that exclusively grows on the Western cliffside of Berset. It is known for its fruit, the Nanut, which grows a few centimeters over the high tide mark. Due to their location and very specific growth conditions, they are incredibly difficult to harvest, and are thus quite rare to find in any economically viable capacity.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Nanuts are wooden vines, between .5 and 3 cm thick, that root into the cliff side and grow in all directions until they find the next cliff side to root into. Their sparse leaves are large, with a palmate shape and serrulate margin. When the salt-level of the wall is sufficient - which usually is in the lowest 50 cm above high tide mark - the vines can sprout small, white blossoms.
The blossoms of the nanut are as boring as the rest of the plant is spectacular. They consist of tree simple white petals and a green stem, the sum of which is no larger than 1 cm in diameter. Each blossom closes after only 5-8 days.
The Nanut-fruits are drupes, consisting of 80% hard core and only 20% flesh. Ripe Nanuts are recognizable by their squishy, orange exterior, which tastes like salted algae - leading to the nickname "algae nut" -, and usually ends up as fish fodder. The core of the nanut, however, can be cracked open, and contains a sweat, yellow nectar with a very distinct flavor. Additionally, the core's shell can be powdered and used in the production of medicine or as a spice for cooking, which is said to have anti-venomous effects.

Genetics and Reproduction

Nanuts mostly reproduce non-sexually, which means they just keep growing and growing as long as there is space to grow. However, they are capable of sexual reproduction, and sometimes a new Nanut-vine grows from a Nanut that ends up stuck in the cliff side.

Ecology and Habitats

The Westside cliffs of Berset are the only place on Ora that naturally offers the required surroundings for Nanuts to grow: The cliff face is high in sodium and nitrogen, the climate is warm, sunny, and moist, and the shape of the island protects the plants from the harshest winds.

Biological Cycle

Due to the subtropical climate of Berset, nanuts bring fruit and bloom all year around. Their blossoms bloom for about 5-8 days, before closing for another 12-14 days and then turning into a small Nanut. Nanut-fruits themselves take about 4 months to ripen, before they start to lose their flesh to the sea foam and eventually drop entirely.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The Nanut is used as a valuable spice and medicinal ingredient. It can be used as an antivenom to certain toxic fumes and snake bites. It is also said to cleanse some magical ailments, although that has not yet been proven.
Additionally, those who can afford to handle whole nanuts directly usually extract their juice from within the shell and share it with a friend. Those who have tried it more than once claim that it tastes significantly better when it was gifted than when it was self-acquired.
Around 35 years ago, a few entrepreneurs also tried to trade the powder of the nanut on the Soot Market of Saltor, claiming it was a hallucinogenic drug and banking on the general populace's lack of knowledge. Sociologists assume that these attempts ended empty-handedly - barring one or two unlucky souls -, but nobody knows for sure.

Also known as

Algae Nut; Cliff Apple; Low Hanging Fruit

Lifespan

Unknown (no definite birth or death)

Geographic Distribution

• Berset

In Southern Ekura, the phrase "low hanging fruit" refers to goals that are so far and unachievable that one might as well not try. Its origin is the nanut, which is the only commonly known fruit that hangs down from the earth surface, instead of growing up from it.