Amongst the many and varied native trees on Ansalon, few are as impressive as the mighty vallenwoods. The vallenwoods are primarily native to the Solace region, and on average grow up to two to three hundred feet in height. Vallenwoods are deciduous trees, which bear lovely white flowers with orange pollen at their core. The flowers look almost like small hands, with their five small tepals. When fully outstretched, each flower spans roughly twelve inches.
The leaves of the vallenwood trees are also hand-shaped and appear shortly after the flowers have fallen in spring. On first sprouting, the leaves are a yellow-green, before turning to a blue-green once fully matured and then finally changing into red, gold or orange (or a combination of all three) as they are about to fall. The leaves of the vallenwood are somewhat transparent and almost seem to glow in the sunlight.
Vallenwood seeds appear normally after five days, and are golden and multi-layered. The middle of the seeds is similar to cinnamon (although sweeter) and edible. Residents of Solace are known to harvest and often utilize vallenwood seeds in their cooking, as they often a rich taste and texture to many dishes. If the seeds are planted in fertile soil and receive adequate rain, the seeds turn into saplings and then grow anywhere from ten to twenty feet a year.
As the vallenwood shoots upwards with it's growth, it also widens it girth to support the load. This means that the bark around the base is constantly shedding and various vermin usually make their homes at this low level of the tree. Moving upwards to around seventy-five feet, rodents and small types of birds often make their nests in the tree, using the bark for their homes.
Towards one hundred feet is where most habitations usually sit, as this is normally the sturdiest point in the tree. Some man-made structures are known to sit lower in the tree, however this is the standard height where most Solace buildings reside. Other than humans, the other main resident at this height are a particular type of moth, which is also the chief pollinator of the tree. At the top of the vallenwoods live numerous types of songbirds and several types of flying squirrels. These residents live amidst the leafy canopy, where they can hide from other predators.
References[]
- The History of Dragonlance, p.194-196