Rainy Season Flora - Tumblr Posts
Kopp'tura Rainbola
Often kept as houseplants out doors, Rainbolas usually serve as a household's own personal cistern. They store excess water in the stem and roots, so they rarely overfill, even in the heaviest of rainstorms. Even if they do, the surface tension on the petals help the water travel straight down to the roots where it can be stored.
Rainbolas are hardy plants that can survive even long periods without rain thanks to how much water they store. Kopp'tura Rainbolas are uncommon in the wild, mostly cultivated as cisterns by the Plains Buddys. During the long months without rain, they are thought to subsist on the love and affection bestowed on them by the family that owns them.
The plants can be found sporadically throughout Wing Alayna, even in Laykia Layna, the southern half of the continent. It is also known to be found in Reline Ah, although the Rainbolas there are said to be more 'stoic' from how reclusive the Flower Buddys are.
Rainleaf Plant
Can be found only during the rainy season in Wing Alayna proper, but grows year-round in Laykia Layna. It can also be found in places on Fuline Ah.
The leaves are often detached and used as coverings for rain as they have a tough, thick, waxy nature that allows them to resist wear and tear against rain.
Ranrinia Duplana
Relative of the Ranrinia Triplana, the Duplana species usually comes into bloom around Cloudalon, the third month, as the rainy season is starting to break up. It was thought for a long time that Duplanas were Triplanas in a different phase of life, but it is now understood that they are different species.
It prefers intermittent rain, so it is sometimes also seen at the start of the rainy season in late Zephyrlan, the ninth month, before things get too intense for it.
Like the Triplana, the Duplana can also grow flowers in its center. Though it can't hold as much water, it does gather a little, especially during the rainy season, and the various debris that finds itself in its blossom also helps to support the small flowers that get their start within its petals.
Heleh Lifurloa
If the Clera Fula signifies the start of the rainy season, the Heleh Lifurloa signifies the end. Its root system works tirelessly to help drain the land and stabilize the ground in the wake of the rainy season. In the dry months, however, it's nowhere to be seen. By what process it disappears has yet to be directly observed, but in particularly wet years when the Heleh Lifurloas are far and few in between, they are sometimes seen all year round, vanishing only when the ground around it is sufficiently drained.
It has long, string-like sticky pistils with which to collect wind-blown pollen as Heleh Lifurloas tend not to grow close together. It stores water in its stem, leaves, petals and tubers, which, aside from the petals, all share a glassy appearance. The leaves and tubers swell the more water they collect and shrink as the plant uses it up. The tubers can be shaped to create beautiful, decorative pieces. The leaves and stems are not so easily manipulated, but nevertheless make elegant, decorative pieces if caught before their mysterious disappearance.
The corolla is sometimes plucked to be used as a decorative container, similar to a Jara Flora. The nectar is used to sweeten tea themed around the flower during the Tea Festival. The leaves, stem and tubers can be melted and boiled down to create a slightly sweet syrup as well, but as the initial melted plant is full of water, it usually takes quite a while to boil it down to a syrup, and few parts of the plant are edible without processing. The pistils are trimmed and used to add a sweet, herbal note to tea themed around the plant.