Parabotany.pdf
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“Eat your vegetables, before they eat you.”
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*<032112> The nominations are
open—let me know who you think
would be a nice addition here.
—FastJack
Today’s Heads Up
* Attached is an excerpt of Dr.
David Wright’s continued work,
The World to Come, categorizing
Awakened plants and animals. Joining
him in this work is parabotanist Dr. Justin
Bogue. This document is mainly from Dr.
Bogue’s travels and it’s an interesting read about the greener side of our Awakened world. Both
Dr. Wright and Dr. Bogue are protégés of the famous parabiologist, Dr. Paterson, who brought us
Paranormal Animals of North America. Even if you weren’t good in biology class, check this out—
there’s information all of us can use. I hope to get the rest of Dr. Wright’s parazoology section of the
book posted at some point, but there’s a backlog of other stuff. Enjoy. —FastJack
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P
ARABOTANY
Posts/Files tagged with
“Parabotany”:
* Power of Plants
* Austras Koks
* Black Mana Orchid
* Brazilian Kiwi
[
More
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PARANORMAL PLANTS
From
The World to Come
by Dr. Justin Bogue and Dr. David Wright
as one of the cheap vegetarian staples came about through corporate
choice rather than survival of the
ttest. Soybeans were the most
e
cient and pro
table super-yielding crop, and the thinking that led
to the soybean becoming a leading food source is the same industrial
methodology that put us in this predicament. Generations have been
weaned upon “Nutrisoy” and other corporate labeled varieties of soy.
e convenience of a soy processor and its creation of variety of
avors
and textures have le
many ignorant of the real
avors and nutrition
they are missing.
Since the Awakening, new and unusual plant species have been
discovered.
rough much experimentation and review of books such
as Pliny’s
Natural History
and the
Ebers Papyrus,
parabotanists are
validating some of the mythical claims of plants that were previously
dismissed by mundane science.
e relationship of plants and ancient
cultures were rediscovered in magical potions, poultices, and paints.
A whole new world of magical reagents as well as the beauty of these
new plants has been trickling into mainstream talismongering and
commercialism.
e point is that while people “oohed” and “aahed” over dragons
and trolls, no one paid much attention to changes in vegetation. What
I present here is the new
ora of our world, whether magical or engi-
neered to match previously published descriptions of fauna species.
It took ten thousand years of domestication for humans to create
the vast biodiversity in our food supply. In a span of two hundred
years we’ve squandered it all. An international study in 1983 com-
pared the seed varieties then to those sold in 1903, and it found that
93 percent of the species had gone extinct. Today, that percentage is
at 97, and there are fewer than ten varieties of any given commercial
fruit or vegetable.
e focus and dependency on high-yield varieties
have led us to genetically weaker crops. UG99, BXW, NRO16, and
Phyto2010 are the code names of some of the fast-mutating funguses
and diseases that have devastated crop production in every agricultural
staple across the globe. On top of this, industrial pollution and the
plowing under of natural habitats to make way for factories, mines and
sprawls have taken their toll. Wars were fought over agricultural land
as governments tried to feed their people. Dust storms, heavy metal
runo
, and pest swarms became frequent. By 1999, global tempera-
tures had risen two degrees, and every agricultural region had to deal
with heat waves, droughts, and/or
ooding.
ose staple varieties that
remain are greenhouse controlled and/or heavily modi
ed to produce
a variety of nutrients or survive harsher environments since there’s
not enough traditionally fertile growing space to meet humanity’s
consumption needs.
is is why we pay such a high price for “real
food”—there simply is not enough to go around. Soy’s dominance
>
I think the reaction to dragons was more “AAAAGH!” than “ooh.”
>
Slamm-0!
PARANORMAL PLANTS
3
PARABOTANY
AUSTRAS KOKS
>
It shouldn’t be that hard to fi nd a glowing tree in the woods.
>
Slamm-0!
Sorbus illuferris
Austras koks, also known as the Tree of the East, is an extremely
rare species of plant capable of not only photosynthesis but also
lithotrophy. Legends state that austras koks leaves are silver, their
branches are gold, and roots are copper, but the reality is that this
primeval tree bioleaches many minerals for energy. Concentrations
of iron, copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum,
gold, silver, and cobalt can be found in various specimens of this tree,
depending on the soil.
e austras koks incorporates these metals in its
growth, depositing them in the cellulose.
is makes the tree di
cult
to cut into, and the metal content also means that the sap of this tree
is a poisonous insecticide.
e roots of the austras koks push deep into the ground, sometimes
as far as one hundred meters, with many small rootlets. At these depths,
some of the respired oxygen and water commence the chemical process
to break down the stone. If the tree is one of the few that absorbs some
gold or silver, it deposits those metals into the leaves, which then glow
and
ash in metallic shades ranging from red to yellow.
It’s possible that these trees could be used to clean up sites where
heavy metals have contaminated the ground, but there are several
problems. One is that experiments have indicated that pollution
concentrations are generally more than austras koks can handle and
they end up killing the roots. Second, the extreme rarity of the tree
makes it hard to
nd.
ird, it’s metabolism is slow, and it takes
decades to absorb minerals in high enough concentration to be of any
value to a mining operation.
While the metals the tree gathers are not easily harvested, they
can make the tree dangerous, especially if it absorbs arsenic or lead. To
date, rarity of the tree has prevented further testing or engineering of
a heartier or faster version of the austras koks.
is rarity and various
unique properties make it a valuable tree, and shipping and smuggling
of the tree has already been observed.
Sorbus illuferris
Austras koks, also known as the Tree of the East, is an extremely
rare species of plant capable of not only photosynthesis but also
lithotrophy. Legends state that austras koks leaves are silver, their
branches are gold, and roots are copper, but the reality is that this
primeval tree bioleaches many minerals for energy. Concentrations
of iron, copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum,
gold, silver, and cobalt can be found in various specimens of this tree,
>
Its glow mirrors the sun’s rising and setting. By nightfall it’s glow is “dead,”
ready to be renewed by the next rising of the sun.
>
Lyran
>
So it’s a solar powered fl ashlight. How useful.
>
Slamm-0!
>
The problem actually is that it’s too useful. The biological properties of the tree
make it worth studying for low-grade ore extraction. The variety of metals that this
tree can absorb is extraordinary, and if science can fi gure out a way to duplicate
what it does, it could help mining processes. Then you have the fact that parts of
the tree, including its sap, can be used in fetishes, foci, and wands. When one of
these is located, it becomes a battleground for competing interests.
>
Ecotope
>
What is it with the wands? I thought mages can just stare at you and you’d
burst into fl ames?
>
2XL
>
Not everyone has a strong enough belief to channel magic. Some need a physi-
cal device to help them focus their energies. Items such as an austras wand turn
a handicap like that into an advantage.
>
Winterhawk
Habitat:
Wetlands, along rivers and mineral deposits in mountainous
regions.
Range:
Eastern Europe (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Konigsberg);
located on one of four rivers, the Daugava, Kurzeme, Vidzeme,
or Latgale.
Frequency:
Extremely rare
Plant Type:
Tree
Description:
Eight- to ten-meters-tall deciduous tree with small, soft,
oval leaves that are usually red to yellow in color and glowing. The
bark is rough with varying shades of blue or green.
Usage:
All components of the tree can be used in making both fetishes
and foci. Wands made of austras koks branches (coated with a
silver stain made from its sap) are in demand. Rural tanners use
the sap in the tanning of animal hides into vellum. This vellum
can be used in magically binding contracts or as a preparation
for manuscripts. Older trees can also be burned and the mineral
contents smelted for a few kilos of various minerals.
Availability:
25F
Powers:
Hardened Armor
Qualities:
Bioluminescence, Poisonous
Notes:
An austras koks contains its Body Rating (not including Force)
in kilograms of metals. It should be divided between various local
metals, with copper and iron being the most common elements.
4
AUSTRAS KOKS
4
AUSTRAS KOKS
AUSTRAS KOKS
AUSTRAS KOKS
BLACK MANA ORCHID
Coelogyne manangre
e black mana orchid is a new species found in the jungles of
Central America. Closely resembling the mundane black magic hybrid
orchid, the black mana orchid is believed to be the closest species to
the fabled and elusive black orchid much sought a
er by parabotanists.
After the discovery of the black mana orchid, pharmacologists
exploring its ecology found colonies of ants feeding on the
ower’s
nectar. Once the ants feasted, they exhibited bizarre behavior, building
amazingly complex geometrical patterns in trees and their colony
hills in manic displays of hyperactivity. Scores of ants create shapes
by chewing leaves and bark while also arranging dirt into precise
patterns.
en, abruptly, they die. It is unclear if the liquid is a defense
mechanism, and the signi
cance of the geometry created by the ants
is unclear.
e nectar of the black mana orchid has been extracted
and re
ned into the street drug known as overdrive. Overdrive is an
organic compound that stimulates neural receptors and the analytical
le
part of the brain. A few hydroponic labs illegally grow black mana
orchids on the North American West Coast for overdrive production,
especially in Cal Free State.
>
So that’s where it comes from. I wonder how they fi gure these things out.
>
Sticks
>
I would have said it’s from explorers getting word of mouth from the indigenous
population that’s been using it for centuries, but you can’t say that now. Like
the writer said, a majority of their fi ndings come from going back to older
books to reevaluate their content. In this case, you have probably sixty years
of experimentation by everyone and their brother running around in Central
America, seeing the crazy ant shapes, fi guring out what loco juice the ants are
drinking, and getting them to share.
>
Clockwork
>
So what’s this legendary black orchid?
>
Netcat
>
Most black orchids are not truly black; they are slightly red or blue. That
particular orchid is so black, even astrally, that mana level drops off into a micro
void. Supposedly it’s a breathtaking sight to perceive.
>
Winterhawk
Habitat:
Branches of trees in jungles
Range:
Central America
Frequency:
Rare
Plant Type:
Flower
Description:
Ten centimeters tall with three narrow, black, blade-like
petals and three shorter, dark maroon petals offset from them.
Usage:
An extract of the sap from the rhizomes (root system) can
be purifi ed and manufactured into the drug overdrive. Special
hydroponics are needed to simulate the high UV, precipitation,
and nutrient conditions the black mana orchid requires to grow
artifi cially.
Availability:
18F
Powers:
Poisonous (see overdrive, p. 77
Arsenal
)
BLACK MANA ORCHID
5
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