Giant's Tongue - looks somewhat like a succulent plant. Like one big (roughly the size of a pony's head when ripe), thick, veiny, mottled red-purple leaf sticking out of a magical tree or other plant. Parasitic in nature, it is covered with tiny hairs that make it vibrate when exposed to wind, making a slight humming sound. It can sound a little eery in large groups in the dark, but is harmless. It tastes sweet. Sweeter than sugar. Like honeysuckle, milk, fresh berries and the slight tang of virgin blood. It's widely considered the ultimate magical creature bait. A product of artificial selection, the wild cousin it evolved from is a nearly-extinct non-parasitic plant called "Giant's Mouth" that contains a smaller version of the tongue-like fruit set within a venus flytrap-like plant (with creepily realistic-looking lips and teeth). Giant's Tongue is cultivated by cutting one of the thick, short roots it imbeds in its host plant and embedding it in another host plant. The fruit is otherwise simply broken off and another will grow up from its root base in its place. It's expensive due to its fragility, tendency to be eaten before maturing by magical creatures (the sheer number, variety, strength and intelligence of such creatures making it very difficult to keep them out... large concentrations of the plant have even been known to attract star beasts) and the need to purchase special magical fertilizers in order to ensure the host plant (typically Fillywood due to its hardiness) has plenty of nutrients to provide and doesn't, itself, die to the parasitic plant. Less expensive alternatives to the bait plant include whistles that imitate the humming sound they make and sprays (used by some as perfumes) that imitate its smell. A frequent side-effect of eating the plant raw is the need to rhyme continuously for a varying period of time, from minutes to days. Nearly any form of preparation or cooking will remove this side-effect but at the cost of making it no longer attractive in the least to magical creatures. It is a common ingredient in desserts and confections among the zebra/pony elite.

Giant's Mouth - A nearly-extinct, carnivorous plant. It feeds by waiting for a magical creature to try and consume the sweet Giant's Tongue fruit within its "mouth" and then bite down with its "teeth". Its most common prey was once breezies, though some had been found with creatures as large as cockatrice stuck in their mouth. When mature it develops and then expels multiple round, pearl-like pods, by all appearances "spitting" them through clenched lips. These pods would take root and more Giant's Mouth would grow.

CategoryFlora

Giant's Tongue (last edited 2014-09-29 23:07:50 by swicked)