Saisa



The saisa is yet another berry that remains a staple in Re life. It grows in trees closer to the ground than most other berries so it is more dangerous to harvest but is very popular for its versatility. The berries can be eaten raw even when not yet ripe, and the leaves and flowers of the trees are also edible. The berries are extremely sweet so are mostly used for utilitarian rather than nutritional purposes and the foliage is mostly eaten instead.

The sweetness of the berries makes them perfect for sweetening other foods. For example, the juice is used to jelly fasu stems into saki]. The berry juice can be used to produce dye and ink.  The Re concentrate the extract from the leaves to produce a poison that is harmless to the Re but nearly deadly to their predator the jaguar, so it is used to coat the spikes of the [[bole guards.

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WIP

- pollen parties when saisa flowers bloom; only adults are allowed to ensure proper handling of flowers so as to not damage and maximize fruit harvest and because of danger of being so close to the ground; right of passage to go to one's first pollen party which usually happens around 4-5 years of age (~22 to ~27 Earth years) and must be invited; parties only occur in specific groves and location changes each flowering season