Editing Amentus (section)

== Appearance ==
Amentus trees are roughly 10 feet tall and have a thin, spindly trunk which looks as if it can't support the treetop. Its pale grey wood is very hard and dense and even thinner branches flex only little. The large green leaves that grow on the branches give the tree an air of a palm tree.<ref name="chapter1.02" /><ref name="chapter6.28">[https://wanderinginn.com/2019/06/25/6-28/ Chapter 6.28]</ref>

The round fruits grow in clusters on the branches; the smaller and unripe ones have a yellow color. (Contradiction: Unripe Amentus fruit are wrinkly and have a black color.<ref name="chapter6.28" />) The ripe ones are about three times larger than apples (probably about the size of large mangos?) and are covered in a hairy and rubbery skin that is edible but can be peeled off. The layer of fruit flesh below is purple-blue and has a sweet taste. A sweet blue fruit juice can be gathered from this outer rind.<ref name="chapter1.02" />

Two thirds of the fruit however make up the seed core: A shell with a purple-brownish hue, that can be cracked open and reveals pulpy seeds suspended in a brown nutrient solution. It's this unappetizing nutrient solution that is poisonous and stinks like a chemical product, akin to antifreeze or a cleaning product.<ref name="chapter1.02">[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/07/30/1-02/ Chapter 1.02]</ref> Swallowing even tiny amounts of the poison induces nausea.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/08/24/1-08/ Chapter 1.08]</ref> Larger amounts cause painful death within hours involving intense stomach pain and frothing at the mouth, according to Rags and Pisces.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/08/28/1-09/ Chapter 1.09]</ref> According to Ceria, Amentus seed liquid is a contact poison that can even make people sick by touching it.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/02/07/1-41/ Chapter 1.41]</ref> Animals and even monsters like [[Rock Crabs]] avoid the stuff for this reason, trying to clean themselves off the fluid as soon as possible.<ref name="chapter1.02" /> This makes them an effective deterrent against the aggressive monsters around Liscor.

To easily tell apart an edible fruit from one tainted by its poison as a result of broken seed cores, the poisoned fruits will be wet, watery, and actively juicy compare to edible blue fruits which only produce juice where they are torn/mashed. It will also kill the fruit rind outside the seed, which will soon start to rapidly decompose.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/volume-1-rewrite-pt-1/ Volume 1 Rewrite (Pt. 1)]</ref> Edible fruits are more like oranges in texture where you have to bite into a section to get the juice.

Both fruits and leaves fall off the tree in winter, leaving only the thin trunk and branches behind.<ref name="chapter2.10" />