Baadalan Tree

Baadalan Tree
Flora
Official Name	Baadalan Tree
Common Name	Cotton Tree, Cloudflower Tree
Classification	Tree
Common Use	Utility
Origins	Sileria
Habitat	Temperate to arid climates

Baadalan Trees are better known as cotton trees to most in Aloria given their primary byproduct of cotton, soft white fibers harvested from around the Tree’s seeds. Baadalan Trees originated within northern Sileria where they were rapidly exploited by the Suvial and soon, the broader Allorn Empire which saw them spread out across a vast area of Aloria. They remain essential for their production of cotton, now used in the production of literal tons of fabric across many nations, and in a wide spectrum of bright colors.

History

Baadalan Trees were originally discovered on the northern Silerian isles by Elven explorers. Curiously, they were plants that went almost entirely uncultivated by the local Nasha. Why this was is not clear, since within just two centuries of Elven settlement, the discovery of the many uses for Baadalan bast, or cotton as many now know it in Aloria, would see to the plant’s extensive use by the future Suvial. As the Allorn Empire expanded and flourished, Baadalan Trees were similarly flung across the Allorn Empire, where vast plantations of slaves were forced to tend to the crop to produce various fabrics for many uses. A portion was even used to make the slave’s own clothing, but often more roughly and haphazardly spun than the waves of gold, white and other hues which poured from the enchanted looms of the Teledden. Baadalan Trees remained very populous across the Allorn Empire, even after the decay of the nation began to weaken its influence. While the Empire ultimately collapsed to the devastation of the Wildering and the Cataclysm, the Tree survived, and ultimately continued to thrive in the plantations they were cultivated in. Ailor Cultures that emerged from the ruins of the Allorn took to maintaining the vast stretches of Baadalan Trees to continue the production of fabric, while Teledden territories also carried on the time-honored tradition. As this time has passed however, slavery as the primary driving force in cotton picking has gradually diminished, with share-croppers and proper workers becoming more common as slave populations are required elsewhere, or decline. Ultimately, it does not matter how the plant is tended and harvested, as Baadalan Trees show no signs of contracting in their vast numbers.

Appearance

The Baadalan Tree is perhaps the shortest tree of all in Aloria, only defying categorization as a shrub by a miniscule amount of height, as well as certain scholarly observations. The plant stands at six and a half to nine and a half feet tall, and possesses a pale green-gray bark. Badalan Trees are covered in foot-long peticoles from which the plant’s lobed, green leaves sprout with several lobes to each leaf causing it to vaguely appear like an oak leaf. The Tree also produces small flowers, from different peticoles, with a pale yellow coloration and thin petals, which also produce the plant’s signature product: cotton. This material is a soft and fluffy white fiber that grows around the seeds of the Baadalan Tree.

Uses and Abilities

Baadalan Trees are universally only used for one product: cotton. These fibers are immensely important to the creation of clothing as they are woven into a range of fabrics, some low quality, others of a high quality. Cotton can also be easily dyed, producing a range of colors, and even in poorer quality products, is quite breathable which is often important in warmer climates. Cotton has also been woven into other products, such as fishing nets, filters and even paper. Some also find that processing the seeds extracted from cotton itself has a benefit in culinary work, but this is a very rarely used portion of the overall plant.

Trivia

• Shish muslin is one of the most prized fabrics in Aloria, produced by the cotton of one particular region of northern Sileria.
• Baadalan Trees are currently engaged in a semantic battle in Ithania, given some have tried to see it classified as a shrub, an act resisted by most traditional scholars in the region.
• Asha claws proved detrimental to the harvesting of cotton within the Allorn Empire, and for that reason, were largely excluded from the process, instead driving carts, or operating other support systems around the harvesting of the fibers which were instead carried out by Ailor.

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Accreditation
Writers HydraLana Processors festiveCorvid, BillyTheScruffy	Last Editor HydraLana on 01/9/2024.

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