Faedin: The Wilderness
Faedin - a world full of forests, mosses, mushrooms, and many alien plant species. Beyond the bustling Olearis Spaceport and the Mushroom Cathedral lie the wilds. Rivers wind their way through the soil, spore boars, kag mantas, and other life forms can be found occasionally drinking from the crystal clear waters which form the life blood of the land. At night, the very air is alight with bioluminescence and the glowing spores of the fungi which make Faedin so distinct.
Flora
Foliaris solentis
Description
A green leafy plant which grows close to water. The leaves and stems are quite plump, a deep, dark green. In larger patches, they sometimes sprout small white flowers with a star-shape to them. These plants grow in symbiosis with certain types of mushrooms, making them quite common near the Faedin creeksides.
Uses
Commonly referred to as Folia, this plant is especially useful for treating surface injuries. When mashed, especially with saliva, it releases a numbing agent. Locals use this in many creams and salves to help with scrapes and burns, much like Aloe Vera is used on earth. It will not heal subsurface injuries, such as bruises, but even with those the mashed leaves can help to sooth the area and dull the pain.
Folia is not particularly flavourful, producing a bitter aftertaste, but it is not poisonous. It offers little in the way of sustenance, however, and as such is mainly used for its healing properties. Ingesting it does not yield effective results, although some naturalists have made such claims before. In Olearis, these individuals are often shooed away as scammers and frauds, since the science has been largely disproven.
Gribula tuberosum
Description
A Tuber-like mushroom which grows underground in the thick of the woodlands. Generally found growing against the tree roots about a foot beneath the soil, these fungi reach the size of russet potatoes and are of a similar starchy quality. They have a thick skin which, once pierced through, can be peeled readily, much like the top of a button mushroom but with the toughness of a navel orange.
Uses
Gribula are difficult to find, but are excellent for eating. As such, they are a local specialty in Faedin, often used as a side dish in the more lavish restaurants. When fried in butters or similar oils with some salt, the flavor is akin to pan-fried shiitake, but the texture is more like a sweet potato. As yet, the Faedin locals have not found a way to reliably cultivate this fungus, keeping it squarely in the delicacy category due to its rarity.
