The Jenny Green, or Maladous alertus, is a small ground-hugging plant with lush fruits and medium-sized leaves of dark green. It is often hard to tell when the fruit of the Jenny Green is ripe, as it remains a light, speckled green (hence the name); if closely observed, a slight paling of the skin will be apparent. These fruits are often compared to star fruit or hedgehogs, because of the fleshy needles that protrude in all directions; these are sharper than they look. They are something of a defence mechanism and can give an unwary hand a rather nasty scratch. However, when the tough skin is peeled or cut away it will reveal a layer of firm, juicy, reddish-purple flesh and, in the centre, a large black seed. The flesh is deliciously tropical in taste, though there is not much of it in a fruit and several of the spiky pods will have to be collected to gather enough Jenny fruit flesh to quench even a small appetite.

The leaves are long and of medium width, coloured a deep green, and slightly rough. They share the appetizing scent of the fruit. The leaves of the Jenny Plant contain a chemical - somewhat akin to caffeine - which keeps a brain buzzing in such a way that sleep is impossible. If they are swallowed whole, as birds sometimes do to prepare for long flights, the consumer will simply find himself slightly more alert than usual and his brain working at a slightly faster pace (they taste rather like slightly sweeter and weaker versions of the fruit). But if they are chewed, breaking through the outer skin to the juices inside, they have a much more concentrated effect: they increase significantly the mental capacities of the consumer, but make it hard to concentrate on any one task; if it is the first time he has chewed them, they will give him a “high” similar to a caffeine or nicotine buzz; and they will prevent him entirely from going to sleep.

Also like nicotine or caffeine, the Jenny Plant leaves are highly addictive. They can be swallowed whole without notable ill effect; but the consumer will be hooked from the first chew. If a PC stops chewing the Jenny leaves, he will become sluggish and sleepy, and feel slow and stupid. The more they are chewed, the lower the “high” becomes, prompting greater levels of chewing to retain that first rush. For as long as a PC chews them, he will not sleep a wink, however tired he becomes; he simply will not be able to lie down and rest. This will lead first to irritableness, then to delusions, then to outright paranoia, until the chewer is finally driven entirely insane from lack of sleep. This process, depending on the mental state beforehand, can take from weeks to a matter of days.

If the Jenny leaves are not chewed for a few days, all ill-effects will gradually disappear.

Magical Properties:

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