Pommela

The Pommela is a coastal fruit native to the island of La Rossa. Edible and savory in taste, it is believed to have been cultivated by humans on the island for the entire length of recorded history. Historically, it has tended to thrive in the island's lowlands, due to Storm-driven precipitations all year round, although the years after the Calming placed a significant strain on its growth.

Description

The pommela tree is decidious, and tends to grow up to a meager 2 meters in height, with many trees growing to a height of little more than a meter. Growing mostly on rocky terrain, the trees firmly tangle themselves in place with complex root systems that serve in primarily holding the surrounding stones in place. Subject to powerful wind throughout its history, due to its proximity to the coastline and the full strength of the Storm, the pommela tree joins the surrounding shrubbery in emphasizing elasticity and firm roots as opposed to rigid structures.

Used to high amounts of rainfall, the trees produce soft, juice-rich fruits round in shape and green in color. Usually less than 5 centimeters in diameter, the flesh of the fruit (covered in a thin layer of skin) surrounds a number of small, sour-tasting seeds sitting in the middle. Used to perpetuate the species, the seeds are likely meant to be spat out by those feeding on the fruit, in order to allow for the tree's spread. Rich and savory in their taste once they reach ripeness, the fruit has long been enjoyed and cultivated by humans living on the island. Birds, such as the arrowhead, are known to dig into the fruits with the tips of their beaks in order to extract their seeds, seemingly unaffected by their taste.

Following the Second Calming, when the Storm cleared around the island of La Rossa, several years of uncharacteristically low precipitation led to the wild populations of the tree to dwindle, with the surviving ones producing lesser numbers of fruit, which was often abnormally disfigured. Government advice has requested farmers to regularly water their trees in order to protect them from the arid conditions, especially following a number of injurious and even fatal rockfalls caused by the deterioration of the trees' own natural barriers.

Food and other uses

The fruit has traditionally been associated with beliefs of its curative properties, and has been often referred to in recipes of folk medicine.