Pirpounk

The pirpounk is a variety of virid bush native to dry or semi-arid habitats, particularly in the desert plains of central and eastern Anásthiasplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnásthias

Anásthias [a-NAS-thee-ass / ænæsθiːæs], or [an-ass-THEE-as] is an equatorial island continent, heart of the Civilised World. The north straddles the equator and is hot and humid, while most of the equatorial centre is an upland plateau with fertile river valleys, and stretches of arid plains and desert in the shadow of the mountains. The south is temperate but more wild, separated from the civilisations of the north by the almost impassable Harthera.

It is related to the balbal with a similarly bulbous root and a long tapering trunk, with an abundance of long, fur-like fronds growing from the top which sway in the breeze. These fronds serve several purposes. Firstly they trap insects and other small animals, which are moved down to the central core by cilia action to be digested. Secondly, they both capture and distribute pollen in season, and are used to disperse airborne seeds.

Mature pirpounks grow into a shrub or small tree with a rough scaley bark, but smaller plants have a viridiscent stem, often streaked with red or other colours. As such pirpounks have long been popular as ornamental plants, first in Miyarris and continuing into present-day Hartheraplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr.

Many decorative varieties have been bred, with variations in size, colour and shape of fronds. Breeds with either pure pink or white furry fronds were particularly prized during the Hartheran Commonwealth, often depicted in portrait art of the period as showing the creativity and sensitivity of the subject. Pirpounks are therefore unfashionable in modern Harthera, where they are kept in pots in country gardens and used to line decorative walkways in sleepy seaside towns.