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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The underwater kelptree forests were first discovered around the time Susevfi was first colonized around 400 BBY. It wouldn't be until about 20 ABY that attempts at harvesting the kelptree leaves for food were begun. Within another ten years, efforts were begun to start harvesting the trees as a lumber source. This proved very fruitful. The salt in the wood helps preserve it, causing it to last a long without being treated. It also naturally keeps away insects. It also will not rot, even in the presence of water, making it a very useful building material for rainy areas. The swirls of color from the salt deposits also give the wood an aesthetic and is a favorite for flooring and wood trim in inns and other places with statuses of above average luxery.
Due to the rapid growth cycle - which is approximately 6 meters a year - of the kelptree, there really isn't any need to create any new forests artificially. The natural cycle keeps up with the current demand and it shows no signs of changing any time soon.
The rapid growth cycle can be attributed, in part, to the minute hydrogen deposits found throughout the body of the tree, but also to the fact that it grows in salt water. These circumstances together mean the tree can grow large at a rapid rate without fear of toppling from its own weight, because it doesn't need to bear its own weight.
- Intent: A tall, broad tree to provide oxygen and a lumber soarce for Susevfi, a "planet" that is mostly covered in plains and savannahs.
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- Links: Susevfi
- Name: Kelptree
- Origins: Susevfi
- Other Locations: Unknown
- Classification: Tree
- Average Growth Cycle: It takes roughly 50 years for a sapling to grow to to full height of about 300 meters. The diameter of the trunk averages around 4 meters at full height.
- Viability: These trees grow under Susevfi's oceans wherever at least a small amount of sunlight can reach the bottom, but will not grow within 2 meters of the surface of the water. These trees grow exclusively in saltwater. This infusion of salt actually preserves the trees when they're harvested for lumber, which makes it unnecessary to treat it against insects or rotting.
- Description: The bark itself is a deep brown swirled with various colors from the salts that move through in the currents. The exact colors depend on the on the particular salts found in that area, which a white color from sodium chloride being the most prevalent. Long, sweeping kelp-like leaves grow upward from the branches toward the surface. These kelpleaves are generally a light green color but can range from blue to yellow. They average about 2 meters in length and can grow right up to the surface of the water. The bark produces bubbles of oxygen.
- Average Height: 300m
- Average Width: 4m
- Color: The bark is a deep brown swirled with various colors of salt stains. The inside is a light brown swirled with the same colors. The kelpleaves run from blue to yellow, though a light green is most common.
- Nutritional Value: The wood itself isn't edible, but the kelpleaves and bark are. They are high in salt content and can be used in any recipe in which seaweed or bark is normally used. They are not recommended for consumption by anyone with high blood pressure and a sensitivity to salt. However, they can be very healthy for anyone with a low electrolyte imbalance, as they they contain various nutritional salts, including sodium chloride and potassium chloride.
- Toxicity: Only to species to whom various salts might be toxic. Otherwise nontoxic.
- Other Effects: Anyone with salt sensitivity might have an increase in blood pressure after ingestion of the kelpleaves or bark. Can be very nutritional to athletes to maintain electrolyte balance and hydration.
- Distinctions: The Kelptree produces oxygen on Susevfi by using salts to diffuse the oxygen from water. It does this as a means of buoyancy, spreading the hydrogen in small amounts across the body of the tree. Any excess hydrogen is released back into the water along with the oxygen. The only variations in the trees come from the areas in which they are found. Difference in salt content and amount of sunlight can affect the coloration of the wood and leaves.
- The kelptree produces oxygen for a breathable atmosphere.
- The kelptree provides a source of both lumber and food for the economy of Susevfi.
- The kelptree is incapable of growing anywhere other than completely submerged in ocean water.
- It can be dangerous to harvest the kelptrees due to aquatic predators, such as sharks.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The underwater kelptree forests were first discovered around the time Susevfi was first colonized around 400 BBY. It wouldn't be until about 20 ABY that attempts at harvesting the kelptree leaves for food were begun. Within another ten years, efforts were begun to start harvesting the trees as a lumber source. This proved very fruitful. The salt in the wood helps preserve it, causing it to last a long without being treated. It also naturally keeps away insects. It also will not rot, even in the presence of water, making it a very useful building material for rainy areas. The swirls of color from the salt deposits also give the wood an aesthetic and is a favorite for flooring and wood trim in inns and other places with statuses of above average luxery.
Due to the rapid growth cycle - which is approximately 6 meters a year - of the kelptree, there really isn't any need to create any new forests artificially. The natural cycle keeps up with the current demand and it shows no signs of changing any time soon.
The rapid growth cycle can be attributed, in part, to the minute hydrogen deposits found throughout the body of the tree, but also to the fact that it grows in salt water. These circumstances together mean the tree can grow large at a rapid rate without fear of toppling from its own weight, because it doesn't need to bear its own weight.
