Water Cherries

a new berry species was discovered in encephalon! it made the front page of all three newspaper branches! it was quite a shock to grab Sunday's edition of the Smilesville Inquirer to read:


AMAZING NEW BERRY FOUND IN CLEARWATER PARK!!

Move over, palm fruit! A new berry has been discovered right under you! A local Clearwater scuba enthusiast, Eugine Sawyer, was exploring the depths of the Clearwater ocean, taking pictures of the vast sea life, though he never expected to find a completely new species of plant underwater!

"I had found my way into a dark undersea cave," says Sawyer, "and I saw this huge shadow that was lit up by a few of those light up squids, and I remember thinking, 'if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was a tree!' As I got closer, I saw it WAS a tree! The leaves looked very healthy despite being in salt water, and the branches swayed in the current just like they would in the wind. It appeared to be covered in little bubbles, but when I touched one, it didn't pop, so I thought they were eggs. Then I noticed the stem, and again, I was like, 'if I didn't know any better, I'd say these were CHERRIES!!' They certainly were the same shape and size of a cherry, but they were completely transparent and almost colorless, though I could see the cherry pit right in the middle!"

Being in high respect for nature, Sawyer plucked just a single berry from the tree and quickly returned to the surface. He rushed the berry to the largest biological research center in Encephalon, which is located in Smilesville, and they did very extensive research. It turns out that the berry was indeed a stone fruit, and was classified under the genus, Prunus, and has been given the name Prunus aquaticus (water cherry).

Out of all the species of cherry, the water cherry mostly resembles Prunus avium, or sweet cherry, including the taste. Just like Prunus avium, the berry of Prunus aquaticus has proven to be non toxic. However, after following Sawyer to the cave where he found the tree, tests have shown that all parts of the plant, save for the berry, are indeed slightly toxic.

"We also are guessing that the berry itself is transparent to camouflage itself," says Smilesville botanist, Nicolas Bishop. "Many species that thrive down by the tree have very poor eyesight, so to them, the water cherry is virtually invisible. This would be its key to survival."

Since only one tree has been found, the water cherry is not yet available to the public. The cave in question has been blocked off, and the tree is protected as endangered until further notice. In the meantime, Bishop has informed us that, not only will there be a search for more Prunus aquaticus trees, but that they will also attempt to grow the trees in captivity. With luck, we'll be mixing water cherries into our palm fruit smoothies in no time!