Tnani

Tnani is the common name for all members of the genus Tnanis, which consists of more than twenty species. Three of these have been imported to Baranxtu due to their importance for Baranxtuan cuisine and culture and since then have spread into the wild and are now commonly found throughout the southern parts of the Southern Continent of the IDU.

The leaves and fruits contain at least a small amount of tnanin, a poison similar in structure and function to strychnine, but not nearly as effective (the lethal dose is about 2 mg/kg).

Name

The name tnani is derived from Old Baranxei Tnanaβei Hanketai Iþaime, which literally meant spice from the Tnanaβe Hanketa.

The term Tnanaβe Hanketa is derived from the Talitrian htnanabe cankera (fields of Tnanabe). The Tnanaβe Hanketa were the most important region of tnani cultivation until the discovery of a close relative which could be grown in the plains of Ašmina.

Species in Baranxtu

Nidajan Tnani

Appearance

The Nidajan Tnani (Tnanis nidaiensis) is a shrub growing up to 6 meters in height, the diameter of their crown can be up to 8 meters.

Its leaves grow in pairs and can vary in color from a rich, dark green to a faded olive green. Of elongated oval shape, they are usually between 10cm and 15cm long, but those of a few subspecies are known to reach up to 25cm in length.

Their blossoms are small with a 4cm diameter. Usually, they are dark red or purple. The Nidajan Tnani blossoms in late April or early May (earlier in warm climates) and their fruit ripen until August under normal circumstances. The fruits are fleshy with many seeds on the inside, and in color similar to their blossoms. They are very bitter in taste.

The roots of the Nidajan Tnani are similar in texture to potatoes. There length can be up to 5m, depending on the ground, and domesticated subspecies' roots often reach one meter or more in diameter. Once washed, their color is a dark beige or light brown.

Toxicity

Most of the tnanin is located in the fruits of the plant. Ripe berries of the wild variant often contain more than 5mg of the poison, so that even a small amount can already prove lethal. Modern subspecies grown for cultivation have been bred to contain much less of tnanin, although a nonpoisonous variant has yet to be discovered.

Use

The Nidajan Tnani is only grown for its roots which store a large amount of starch even in the wild form. Their use in cooking parallels that of potatoes, the Tnani roots, however, are more neutral in taste.

The berries of the Nidajan Tnani cannot be used as even small amounts of tnanin are stored in them from the very moment they start to grow. They also lack the strong tangy taste of the berries of the berries of the Tnanabe Tnani.

Tnanabe Tnani

Appearance

The Tnanabe Tnani (Tnanis tnanis) is a shrub growing up to 2 meters in height, the diameter of their crown usually does not grow larger than 1,5 meters.

They are adapted to a life in a hot and arid climate, so their leaves are small and thick.

Their white blossoms are almost minuscule. The Tnanabe Tnani blossoms shortly after rain and their fruits ripen within 2 months after pollination. The berries are small, fleshy and with many hard-shelled seeds on the inside. The berries are yellow or orange in color.

The roots of the Tnanabe Tnani are similar to those of the Nidajan Tnani, but much smaller. Their taste is much more bitter, as aromatic substances are solved in the water chamber of the roots which are bigger than those of the Nidajan Tnani.

Toxicity

The Tnanabe Tnani only stores a small amount of tnanin in its berries, usually only up to 0.1 per berry. The amount of poison found in the leaves varies greatly, and can reach about 7mg a leaf in the lower parts of the plant.

Use

The Tnanabe Tnani used to be grown for all of its parts. Since the discover of the Nidajan Tnani, however, they have almost only been grown for their fruits as they contain the least amount of poison of all tnani species.

The tnanin can be almost completely removed from the berries by cooking and drying, which destroys the alkaloid. The dried berries are than processed into a powder that is used as a seasoning. Tnanabe Tnani berries are tangy in taste, but relatively neutral otherwise and are not as popular as the traditional spice made from the bark of the Atamian Tnani.

Atamian Tnani

Appearance

The Atamian Tnani (Tnanis atamiensis) is a shrub growing up to 5 meters in height. They often more ressemble a tree than a bush, with a crown of usually 2-3 meters in diameter.

Their leaves are very similar to those of the Nidajan Tnani.

Atamian Tnani blossoms as soon as average daily temperatures reach 14°C. The blossoms are yellow or orange. After pollination, the berries need between 2 and 4 months to ripen. The berries are relatively large, fleshy and with many seeds on the inside. The berries' colors range from purple to dark red to dark orange.

The roots of the Atamian Tnani are rather small in comparison to those of the Nidajan or Tnanabe Tnani. Their taste can be actually a little sweet.

Toxicity

The Atamian Tnani stores most of its poison in its berries, which can contain between 2 and 3mg of tnanin.

Use

Is is the bark of the Atamian Tnani that is harvested by farmers. It contains a number of non-toxic aromatic substances that are usually extracted from the bark and find wide use as a spice in a large number of traditional Baranxtuan dishes.

Some traditionalist, however, prefer a dark powder made directly from the bark. This is marketed under the name tnanaruhbija.

Cultivation

Tnani are grown in all Baranxtuan provinces, but the major producers is Dorista, followed by Ziaha and Bari Nazer in a distand third place.

The farming of tnani employs approximately 30,000 people in Dorista alone, and about 75,000 people in all of Baranxtu. The business is worth about 2,500,000 aimau a year.

Tnani export has not yet reached substantial amounts, as tnani remains a primarily Baranxtuan spice the international community still has to catch on.

Habitat

From the first beginnings of cultivation in Baranxtu, seeds have been carried to the wild and the three tnani species have spread throughout Baranxtu and Jonquiere-Tadoussac.

Whether they can be seen as an ecological threat or not is disputed. Most of those growing in the wild are descendents from the first imported tnani plants and as such, have a much higher toxicity level than today's variations. Whereas herbivores in Ašmina have adapted to tnanin (or at least have become less sensitive to it), the plant is still highly toxic to the native wildlife. On the other hand, the pungent taste of the fruits and leaves is sufficient to repel most animals.

The most widespread of all tnani species in Baranxtu is the Nidajan Tnani. It can easily adapt to a wide range of climates and can nowadays be found in most Baranxtuan forests.

The strong adaption of the Tnanabe Tnani to arid climates made it rather susceptible to the humdity in most areas of Baranxtu except in leeward regions in the mountains of central Baranxtu which are relatively dry.

Atamian Tnani needs a relatively cold climate and can be found in the higher regions of the Baranxtuan mountains and therefore is not found in Bari Nazer or the Neilas.