The Kovau Tree - Bearer of Sweet Death (~Kovau~)
The Kovau is a species of megadendron that propagates itself by mimicking the ~Eazu~, the Castrovellian Milk-tree. While it lacks the Milk-trees psycho-responsive propertites, it resembles it leaf-shape and coloration. Also it does not produce the nutricious milk-sap for which the ~Eazu~ is famed. However, its fruit hold the sweetest sap of any vegetation native to Asana, and also parasitic seeds, which take root over time in the victim’s digestive tract. As they slowly grow, the feed on their host’s flesh, eventually killing it, after which they sprout from the body and consume it.
The Lashunta of the Upper Yaro Valley have developed a perverse use for the Kovau. They harvest the fruit, boil the sap to kill the seeds, and ferment it to make ~karaelefu~ - sweet-death wine, which they trade downriver to Qabarat as a specialty, where it is esteemed much like absinthe. According to legend from the Age of the Thief-Queens, this was used as a poison when the tree’s raw sap was surreptitiously mixed in with the fermented wine.
Basic Information
Genetics and Reproduction
Trees pollinate hermaphroditically. The tree attracts animal herbivores through its sweet fruits. Once ingested, its parasatic seeds attach to the intestinal wall and begin growth. The host sickens as the seedlings roots break through tissues, and eventually dies. The seedling then consumes the rotting corpse for food.
Ecology and Habitats
Northern Yaro Valley and Central Stormshield Mountains
Additional Information
Domestication
So long as the raw fruits or sap are not ingested, the tree is otherwise harmless.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
~Karaelefu is a wine made from the Kovau's boiled fruit-sap, which kills the parasitic seeds. Casks are traded down the Yaro River to Qabarat, where it is a popular drink among edgier artists.
Origin/Ancestry
Castrovel
Conservation Status
Rare
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