Sacha (Saw-cha)

Sweet Fire

Popular for its sweet, mildly spicy, and smokey flavor, the Sacha bush is a hard-to-cultivate but rewarding crop plant within the Sanguar Institute and Churrian culture. Hailing from the temperate forests of Churr, this plant has seen significant use within Churrian dishes and products, including the popular Aeloria mead, for centuries where its cinnamon-like scent and flavors can excite the senses. As such, this plant is often taken to wherever Churrian's may settle due to the ease of transporting its clippings.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Sacha consists primarily of a large crimson and rarely flowering bush that extends upwards to 8 feet. With branches covered in red nettles and giving off an earthy sweet and spicy scent, it's an intimidating sight for any would-be gardener or adventurer.

Biological Traits

As many domestic Sacha bushes tend to be clippings taken from a parent bush they generally vary little from each other with some Sacha cultivators proudly maintaining a record of pedigree for their crops from especially unique parental sources. However, wild variants tend to have more variation in sizes, potency of their spice, and number of red nettles which differ significantly from plant to plant.

Genetics and Reproduction

Flowering once every 5 to 10 years, the Sacha is a popular spice-giving plant based almost entirely on cultivation as opposed to natural reproduction. When it does flower, the Sacha will blossom with small faint white and pink flowers which, if pollinated, will then gradually turn into a cluster of small, hard, and incredibly spicy nuts which are then eaten and deposited by various flying creatures who can't taste the cinnamon-like spice. Due to the limited number of flowering events, however, Sacha cultivators find it more practical to carry clippings of the bush to plant and grow elsewhere.

Growth Rate & Stages

Relatively fast growing despite its size, the Sacha bush can grow around 6 to 12 inches a week if properly cared for. While wild Sacha bushes are generally the result of basic seeding and germination via animal droppings, domestic Sacha crops are usually grown from specially prepared clippings of a parent bush. As such, domestic Sacha plants tend to grow faster than wild variants which may surprise ill-prepared gardeners and farmers who find that they quickly run out of space to harvest the plant from.

Ecology and Habitats

Preferring temperate environments with moderate rainfall, the Sacha plant is well known to be a temperamental crop. While it is fast growing, domestic varieties of Sacha are often vulnerable to disease and overcrowding. As a result, ill-prepared areas of cultivation may soon find themselves with a sudden burst of Sacha bushes that then quickly die into useless husks thus requiring a large amount of work to clear and try again. This is a problem that is less prevalent in the wild as undomesticated Sacha bushes tend to be more genetically diverse and clusters of Sacha bushes are a rare sight owing to their primary means of seed distribution.

Biological Cycle

Once fully grown, the Sacha bush is a fairly stable plant and does not go through periods of shedding leaves or hibernating during cold seasons. As such, a single bush can continue to provide a family with a consistent flow of Sacha spice throughout the year if cared for properly.

Additional Information

Domestication

Domesticated centuries ago by the Churrians, the Sacha bush has seen little change throughout its cultivation history. This is primarily due to the fact that most cultivated Sacha plants are grown from clippings acquired from parent bushes which has resulted in little variation between domestic plants. While this has resulted in consistent levels and production of its unique spice, the Sacha plant has become vulnerable to disease and environmental change as a result.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Prepared primarily for its spice, the twigs and branches of the Sacha bush are often ground down into fine powders for use on a variety of food dishes. Consisting of a sweet flavor with mild spicy and smokey undertones the Sacha spice is a favorite for many Churrian meat and dessert dishes. However, where the spice is popularly considered to shine is in the favored Venestrian mead Aeloria where the Sacha's cinnamon-like flavor takes a unique centerstage along with Operaat fruit.
The spice is also considered a popular choice for incense and as such is not an uncommon scent to have during many ceremonies such as the Belan-Nor.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Previously located throughout Churr's temperate forests until the planet's destruction, the Sacha plant now finds most of its home within Churrian greenhouses and gardens as a carefully cultivated crop. As a result, wild varieties of Sacha are an incredibly rare occurrence owing primarily to careless gardeners or animal intervention.

Lifespan

Around 30 to 40 years.

Conservation Status

This species is relatively rare throughout Refuge as it is primarily found in Churrian gardens as opposed to being allowed to grow in the wild, though there are exceptions.

Average Height

8 feet tall.

Geographic Distribution

• Churr