What unusual foodstuffs do they cultivate in your worlds? I’ll start, on one of my sci-fi worlds (not named yet, but it’s a typical colony on an alien planet sort of deal) a modified variety of ginger has become a staple crop. The unmodified variety was one of the first things the colonists could get to grow in the alien soil. When efforts to adapt most Earth staples failed they instead re-engineered those plants they could grow to be more nutritious. The ginger was spliced with genes from many different vegetables but primarily yams. The resulting crop retained most of the original flavor but is starchier and a bit sweeter than traditional ginger, with a firmer, grainier texture than a yam or potato.
"The primary crop grown is Tassalroot a large tuber used in various ways as the primary form of sustenance for the people of Bastion, especially Middle Bastion. The flowers are dried and used as a smoked intoxicant while the fibrous leaves are used to create strands for clothing or other textiles. The use of Magic is essential here as the lack of rainfall in the Realm of Bastions means that Water Magic or fetching water through bucket pulleys anchored to the Outer Walls is the only means by which to irrigate the massive Farmlands. Some Noble Families pay to have small sections of Farmland worked for their needs, usually a rare plant from Outer ‘Ka used to spice food or pharmacology. "
Sounds really neat, is there a particular reason i.e harsh terrain, rare pollutant, or lack of sun that reasulted in this? Or is this all underground?
Two regions in my world also rely on fungus/algal symbiotes. One is living at the base of a volcano and the continuous ash makes normal plant growth impossible but a special lichen grows on the volcano that is able to sustain the people.
The other region is a literally stratified underground society with the lower class citizens forced to live in the deepest caves relying solely on underground mushrooms, fungus, etc. to survive.
Could keep it simple with a short aside “Muddite from the alien world is a compound molecule that disrupts plant cell walls preventing their evolution and providing a niche for funghi to flourish, after the terraform the Muddite molecule was destroyed in many regions allowing plant life to establish a roothold.” idk its up to you on how much detail but honestly “got terraformed by accident” is a good enough reason
