"And make sure the fruit stays dry." - The Best Cook of Royal Navy, a book never read
Full Description
Seaman's Fruit is a small variety of citrus, grown in drier temperate zones, especially on the plains and sunnier hillsides of Harbag. It is relatively dry and meaty, but has all the goodness of citruses (later known as vitamin C) that prevents sailors from getting scurvy. It can last many months in a ship's hold if kept dry.
Culinary Applications
Seaman's Fruit has a strong orange-like scent and rather bland taste. There are many recipes that makes use of this combination, from soups and salads up to seasoning meat.
Distilled, it is thick, almost creamy, with high alcohol content; fine, but expensive. It is rumored to be a mild aphrodisiac (probably just a rumor). Drinking more than a few shots produces headaches, so it is used for toasts and celebrations. A tea with one drop of it is still customary among the old settlers.
Other Properties
The large alchymistic industry in the area has tried to use it as well, but it seems to be magically inert. It is mixed into potions and salves to suppress some of the fouler smells. The beverage can increase the duration of some products, it is a basic component for potions of healing here. Know that it keeps the headache-producing qualities.
Growing It
The halfling-sized plant is quite hungry. A capable farmer can use the same field every other year for growing it, most only once per three years. A tree can have dozens of flowers, it is prudent to remove some flowers if the soil or location is not ideal. In the south, they jut shave off all flowers one year, for a full harvest next year.
The fruits are best for harvest when they have two inches in size and are soft enough. If they grow any larger, they tend to become mushy and rot quickly.
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Solid submission. It has plenty of detail in all the right places, it just seems so... normal. It is exactly what the sub is called. A Seaman's Fruit, and nothing else. A fun bit of fluff and sure to be included in a seafaring game, but not much else.
Well... it's oranges, isn't it?
If a move away from 'normalcy' is desired, perhaps they can be slightly adjusted.
The first line for example gave me an idea.
"And make sure the fruit stays dry."
What if this particular fruit's rind/skin is so strong/dense that it is for all intents and purposes, waterproof for a considerable period of time. Dropped a cask of seaman's fruit overboard? Fear not! Not only are they waterproof, but they float! And since fish have not yet found citrus to their tastes, they are salvageable! Slight twist, but suddenly the fruit's market value takes a bump. Think tennis balls with nutritional value :)
Also, another idea. What if a 'side-effect' is that having dropped many seaman's fruits overboard over the years, sailors have noticed something peculiar. Fish in general, and sharks in particular, seem averse to the pungent citrus oil and acids, seeping from this fruit's rind. Sharks that usually follow ships looking for scraps, seem less inclined to swim in water peppered with these fruit?
Experimenting, some sailors smeared seaman's fruit juice on their bodies when diving, snorkeling, or cleaning the hull, and noticed a slight (obviously not fool-proof) aversion from nosy sharks. Though the salt-water washes the fruit's juice away obviously, enough citrus aroma is left in the water for sometime to have a small effect. Others have taken to tying necklaces of seaman's fruit around their necks or ankles when diving. Hang enough of them, and you even have a makeshift baby-buoy.
Yum yum, tasty.
Nice simple piece to include in your campaign to add some depth and back story. Muro's enhancements make it more unique and interesting. (Nicely done Muro!)
As has been noted, this is really a simple, regular, normal fruit. Not all fruit needs to be special.
Although Muro's addition is pretty cool, too!
Perhaps this would be better part of a scroll - it seems a little bare here on it's own. Perhaps some more whimsical tales, falsehoods or usages would help. Muros additions being an example of that.
I'm cool with non-magical fruit, but exploring some more of the social construct of the fruit would be interesting. Recipes, old wives tales, the fruit as a symbol for something (health? safe journeys?), etc. It's the little things.