Blue Oat Stem

A record of a southern Eitadorian plant, circa 1140.

    Blue oat is a unique plant that is grown all throughout Estrella as well as in the Southern Plains of Razenova. To grow it, farmers just grow regular oats in close enough proximity to existing blue oats. This implies that it is some kind of affliction that passes from plant to plant, but there is counter-evidence to that speculation. Blue oats have never been grown in the north despite intentional efforts to spread them up through Avosnia and Karfor. Perhaps there is some special property to southern soil that allows blue oats to grow? It could well be a blessing, or perhaps a curse, from Monathia herself!
    Blue oats get their name from the stem, which is the part that changes colour and becomes bulbous. The stems acquire a mild meaty sort of flavor and a tough and springy texture. Many locals find it quite delicious, and like to chew on blue oat stem as they go about their day. Alternatively, if they are cut into small pieces and stewed for a time, they lose their tough texture and become a useful ingredient in any number of dishes.
    Estrellan peasants like to add blue oat stem to their food as a kind of meat substitute. It pairs well with the perfumed vegetable dishes that are popular there. Most sustenance hunting is banned across the vast majority of Estrella, excluding the deep countryside, and so meat is largely reserved for the nobility except on religious festivals. This, plus the flowery herbs used in Estrellan cooking, is where the derogatory term ‘flower-eater’ comes from. Some have suggested that the spreading popularity of blue oat stem might eventually help to change Razenovan perspectives on Estrellan food.
    The main issue with growing blue oats that is not present with growing regular oats is that they seem to attract dregrats in much greater numbers. These are frightening rodents as, including their tails, they can grow to be well over a meter long! It’s said that they came from one of Eitador’s island neighbors, and that many years of efforts to exterminate them have been almost completely fruitless. They’re crafty little creatures who are capable of both climbing trees and digging holes, so they are good at evading capture.
    If you are a farmer who is somewhere in the south, and you think that you can handle a few dregrat nests, you will probably be growing blue oats. It’s a great way to make a profit as you can sell both the stem and the seeds instead of, as with regular oats, just the seeds. It also makes it slightly easier to feed large populations, and has played a small part in the growth of many towns and cities.

Pictured above: Dregrat Specimen.

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