[container:vigmarker]Quwi saved the world from famine, but you must wait. [br][br]
Eating it too early will bring a deadly fate.[br]
[right]- Baduhmian warning poem.[/right][/container]
The Quwi, or Survivor Tree, was one of the few types of flora that not only survived, but thrived through [tooltip: The 30-Year Winter followed the Cataclysm, and dropped global temperatures by more than 20 degrees – -click for more information]The 30-Year Winter[/tooltip].
Originally a simple variety of apple tree, the Quwi was uniquely suited to the dismal cold. But the apple tree underwent some significant changes caused by the exposure to fallout from [tooltip: The Cataclysm was a near world-extinction event – click for more information]The Cataclysm[/tooltip]. The trees became much larger, and the fruit and flowering changed significantly. [img:2123050|right|400]
The fruit can be extremely nutritious when ripe, and this nutritional value is what helped many Urnatis recover when they emerged from their shelters after the 30-Year Winter. But lessons were learned about the mutation as well.
If the fruit is eaten before it ripens, it can be deadly, as many Urnatis discovered. The unripe fruit has a poisonous trait that attacks the gastrointestinal system of most species, resulting in severe dehydration and stomach cramping, followed by extreme flatulence. If an individual can survive the poisoning, there is a high likelihood they will experience some form of nervous system damage, from memory loss and loss of body control to personality changes and physical tics.
The Quwibiril bird will eat the unripe fruit unharmed, but will not eat ripe fruit. This is the clue that fruit is safe to harvest. The bird’s gastrointestinal tract features an enzyme that neutralizes the poison. The birds are partial to the male fruit, which contains the most seeds. This is the main method of propagation for the tree.
During ripening, the poison ferments and loses its toxicity. The intense flavor of the fruit, known as the Quwi Apple, is created by this fermentation. If the fruit is used as a base for a drink, such as a mead, the additional fermentation further intensifies the flavor, and creates a potent alcoholic drink. Animals who eat fruit that has fermented are often found acting strangely or asleep under the tree. More than one squirrel has eaten an overripe Quwi apple, only to fall from the the tree in a stupor.
[quote]”These cursed rodents are always getting knackered on me apples. I hate havin’ to step over ’em like furry puddles”|Baduhmian Apple Farmer[/quote]
In the first years after the Cataclysm, Urnatis were unaware of the poisionous nature of the unripened fruit. Now, centuries later, deaths and even illness from eaten unripened fruit are rare, and usually happen with children who have not been properly warned away. Most children are taught fairly early that if the bird will touch the fruit, the child should not. In fact, children are encouraged to make water basins out of clay to attract the Quwibiril, who are an excellent indication of whether the fruit is safe or not.