Peppermint Pine

Peppermint pines are very much like Ponderosa pines in appearance. Rather than pink bark, though, they have bark with a vague red-and-white tint that spirals up the trunk much like a candy cane. Similarly, they have reddish needles interspersed throughout clusters of their regular deep green needles.

A common variant of the peppermint pine, called the spearmint pine, has light green needles and bark rather than red. Its smell is far less potent than that of a standard peppermint pine.

Peppermint pines are gymnosperms. In the spring and summer, they fertilize each other through pollen carried on the wind. Fertilized cones mature and pop in the autumn and winter.

Peppermint pines are endemic to northern Pandora. They thrive in arctic and taiga regions with abundant rainfall/snowfall and low elevation.

While they can survive outside of Pandora, they tend not to grow outside of the continent. The farthest they get from their native habitat is Heraklea, where they are found throughout the Ghast's Taiga.

Peppermint pines naturally produce menthol in their needles and bark. They are used for many purposes, from culinary to medicinal. Since peppermint pine needles are good at relieving nausea, they are commonly brewed into herbal teas for that express purpose. In addition, the sap and bark are good for burns, both because of the menthol and because of the inherent Water magic in them.

Since peppermint pines are associated with the Water element, they are resistant to fire. Their logs may be used to build homes or walls to protect against wildfires.

In the center of Yule City square is a great peppermint pine adorned with holiday lights of six colors all year round. It is believed that this is the oldest peppermint pine in existence. At the very least, it has massively outlived most others of its kind, being over 100 years old.