Candlenut

Candlenuts are the fruit of a viridplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigVirid

Referring to the Virid Kingdom of flora and fauna, toxic to human life. shrub, whose oil is used for lighting, a variety of domestic and industrial uses, and refined for human consumption. Candlenut bushes are native to southern Otekahré, Munatan and the virid jungles of southwestern Ororr, where they form part of the staple diet.

Candlenuts are not true fruits, instead they are seed-bearing growths which extend from the scaley bark of the shrub near the base of each stem. The bark husk contains a fatty, nutritious core which is bitten off by grazing virid animals, and either eaten whole, were it is digested in the stomach and passed in droppings, or smashed by jinnies, the husks cast aside. Since the seed grows from the tip of the husk, being harvested by animals is the plant's dispersal strategy for its seeds.

Like many virid plants, candlenuts are fertilised by the spor of other plants, motile gametes which make their way through moist soil rather like spermatozoa.

Candlenuts are spherical or elipsoid in shape, with a rough brown shell and a smooth base where it was attached to the tree. The tip bears a cluster of colourful leaves, usually reddish or purple depending on variety and time of year, which are not flowers but merely a means of attracting grazing animals to ripe nuts. The shell is bifurcated so that it cracks in two when subjected to pressure, revealing a thick yellow-white fatty core.

Candlenuts were historically used by the Gyeil people for lighting, since the waxy core burns easily, with the dried leaf tips used as a wick. Though they are still used by some tribes as night lights, this use has been superceded by ceramic lamps burning refined oil. The wax is refined by melting it, removing the heavy proteins which are harmful to humans, and leaving a translucent liquid oil.

Neutral candlenut oil is used both for lighting and for cooking. It is also used in a huge variety of other products, such as polish for leather and in soap. It was one of the principal products of the Ennseperan Empire, and is still an important economic resource for the region.