Pygmy King Flower - Plants of Hot Springs Island
The Pygmy King
Flower, or Green Ribs, produces a conical, flower-like structure from a base of
8-10 fat, fluid filled leaves that resemble a broken rib cage. The flower is
usually 1' in diameter, 2' tall, and always brightly colored. While the color
can vary greatly, solid orange and blue with yellow spots are the most common
colors here on the Swordfish Islands. Nectar fills at least half of each basin
shaped flower and when exposed to sunlight this liquid releases a sweet, sugary
fragrance. Small creatures and large insects are attracted to this smell but
upon entering the flower they are trapped by its slippery walls and slowly
digested. When a Pygmy King Flower finishes digesting a meal, or becomes over
filled (such as after a heavy rain) the flower will tilt and dump its contents
onto the jungle floor before slowly righting itself once more. The tiny mold
men from the Isle of Blooms prize the Pygmy King Flower and seem to use these
brightly colored leaves as hats to denote some sort of crude, tribal, status.
The succulent, rib shaped leaves at the base of this plant can be mashed into a
salve that is an excellent treatment for major burns and minor lacerations.
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