Coranin

A somewhat rare herb (at least in the exterior parts of Diomedes); when dried and crushed, it provides a unique smoky flavor that is one of the key ingredients to Jensen's fried chicken batter recipe.

Coranin itself is a small pod, no bigger than a grain of rice. The pods grow on the inside of a bulb, about an inch and a half in diameter, on the end of a stalk anywhere from a foot to a foot and a half long. Each plant produces one bulb. The bulb, if left alone, blooms into a lavender-colored flower. At this point, the pods will have broken down and produced a sticky sap that collects at the bottom of the flower; insects gather this sap (cause it's tasty) and transfer it to other coranin plants, depositing the sap (and pollen) into the pistols of those plants. This is how pollination happens. The sap is also used for various poultices and whatnot, and as a sweetener for baking goods. (elves like to make "sweetbread" with it [not to be confused with the other kind of "sweetbread"])

The pods, however, are what Jensen needs. The bulbs can be cut open and produce about 200-300 pods. They are then dried and crushed. A bulb makes about 2 tablespoons of coranin powder. The ideal time to harvest the bulbs is early spring.