Archive:Barhene Miriams Nature Studies
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About Barhene
Barhene Miriam was a 19 year old Nature & Biology student from the Island of Andureem, town of Al-Avhastan. Until the age of 13, he lived with his mother in a small home right outside of the islands capital, doing farmwork and taking care of his little sister, while his mother joined merchant caravans to steady their income. Barhene would, while his mother was away, sell his fresh and hard earned wheat and bread for money on the market, so he could ease his sisters life. Barhene never knew his father, only ever hearing unpleasant stories about him from his mother. A few days after his mother had returned from a long journey across the continent of Gaushan, he woke up in the middle of the night to distraught screaming and terror. Dashing outside of the house, he saw his mother and sister being dragged away by cloaked figures. Barhene screamed at them while charging the kidnappers, however, only to get kicked to the ground by one of the men. It wasn't until the next morning that the scene was discovered by a villager and nearby soldiers. Barhene was taken in by another family who he lived with until the age of 16, after wich he left them to live in a house in the capital Al-Avhastan. Here, he would chase his passion; studying native nature and biology.
A letter he had wrote to the government, asking for allowance to publish his studies, would ultimately get accepted. His studies would be shared across multiple libraries and would be up for sale in the nations promoted markets.
Andureem Nature: Case Study 1
Barhene Miriams first study was upon the great Emperor Palm Tree, scientifically known as the nijuše yezenibaba zafi.
A rare palm tree found mostly on and near shores.
FEATURES
Distinguishing itself from a regular palm tree, the Emperor grows up to a grand size of 18 - 24 meters, compared to a regular palm trees 15 meters. Besides its unregular size, one of its most recognisable features is its spiral-shaped growth.
The Emperors log is of the same wood as a normal palm tree, however in some cases, Barhene has found the material of the Emperor Palm Trees logs to be more reinforced. Due to the tree growing mostly on and around shores, its leaves are often found damp and wet. These leaves look like a sized down version of regular palm leaves, usually also hanging down in wet clumps. The Emperor Palm Trees crown is far more fuller and bushier than the regular palm tree's. Sometimes, the trees roots grow alongside the stem of the tree. Barhene suspects this being due to the roots not finding any appropriate soil, therefore trying to grow elsewhere.
USES
Barhene was not able to study many uses of the tree, since Andureems government has issued a protection order on the tree, due to it being a rare sight on the island. However since the logs comparing mostly the same to a regular palm trees logs, it can be concluded that they would be used for the same things, like as a regular building and crafting material. The Emperor Palm Tree also serves as food for the islands native animals, the Dinnedoans, as they have been found eating the trees leaves.
Andureem Nature: Case Study 2
Barhene's research continued with the Hibiscus Cactus, known as hībīsikesi k’ulik’wali in the katabasi language.
A species of Cacti found most commonly deep in the mainland of Andureem island, usually in groups of up to 17 cacti.
DESCRIPTION
The Hibiscus Cactus is the second most common cactus on the island, next to the plain cactus.
The cacti have been found growing in groups of up to 17 plants. Barhenes theory says, that once one cactus grows in an area, its flowers seeds drop into the ground, forcing other cacti to grow.
The most notable feature are obviously its Hibiscus flowers, each cacti growing up to 2 - 4. The cacti takes up to 14 months to grow to its full adult size, some finishing its growth sooner than others. The flowers take about 3 - 4 weeks to grow to their full extent.
Other than the flowers, the Hibiscus cacti differentiate themselves from the plain cacti in their small size, growing up to anywhere between two and four meters, while the plain cacti can grow up to a wopping size of 9 meters.
USES
The Hibiscus cacti are often found to be replanted and farmed by its islands people. Harvested for their flowers, these are made use of for a good tea or even medicine, used to treat illnesses and such.