Gorean Flora


artic flowers- no specific name is given for these plants...it is mentioned that there are many types

The tundra at this time of year belies its reputation for bleakness. In many places it bursts into bloom with small flowers. Almost all of the plants of this nature are perennials, as the growing season is too short to permit most annuals to complete their growing cycle. In the winter buds of many of these plants lie dormant in a fluffy sheath which protects them from cold. Some two hundred and forty different types of plants grow in the Gorean arctic within five hundred pasangs of the pole. None of these, interestingly, is poisonous, and none possesses thorns. During the summer plants and flowers will grow almost anywhere in the arctic except on or near the glacial ice. Beasts of Gor (pg 196)

brak bush - the leaves of this shrub have a purgative if they are chewed...in accordance with tradition, branches of this plant are nailed to the doors of houses during the Waiting Hand to ward off bad luck

Almost all doors, including that of the House of Cernus, had nailed to them some branches of the Brak Bush, the leaves of which, when chewed, have a purgative effect. Assassin of Gor (pg 211)

carpet plant - found in the Schendi rainforest...the tendrils can be a source of drinking water and used as binding fiber

I then rose to my feet and walked a few yards away, to a fan palm. From the base of one of its broad leaves I gathered a double handful of fresh water. I retuned to the girl and, carefully, washed out the wound. She winced. I then cut some leaves and wrapped them about it. I tied shut some leaves and wrapped them about it. I tied shut this simple bandage with the tendrils of a carpet plant. Explorers of Gor (pg 347)

clover - herbs found low to the ground and usually in clusters...they bear three leaves and small flowers that attract bees and are often foraged

cocoa tree - it is thought that these trees originated on Earth and were brought to Gor...they supply cocoa beans used for chocolate and are grown in the warm southern regions of the plane

"Yes, Mistress," said the girl. "It is very good," I said. "Thank you, Mistress," she said. "Is it from Earth?" I asked. "Not directly," she said. "Many things here, of course, ulti- mately have an Earth origin. It is not improbable that the beans from which the first cacao trees on this world were grown were brought from Earth." "Do the trees grow near here?" I asked. "No, Mistress," she said. "We obtain the beans, from which the chocolate is made, from Cosian merchants, who, in turn, obtain them in the tropics." Kajira of Gor (pg 61)

colored grass - stalky grass in various colors in the Pleasure Gardens of Turia....two hues being violet and blue...blue grass can be crushed into a powder and used as a healing aid for pain relief

dina - located on the hillsides of the north...this small, short-stemmed, multiple petaled flower is very alike the rose of Earth...often the symbol of this flower is used as a brand for slaves...the dina is called the 'slave flower' and many slaves bear its name

my own brand was the dina; the dina is a small, lovely, multiply petaled flower, short-stemmed, and blooming in a turf of green leaves, usually on the slopes of hills, in the northern temperate zones of Gor; in its budding, though in few other ways, it resembles a rose; it is an exotic, alien flower; it is also spoken of, in the north, where it grows most frequently, as the slave flower; ...But perhaps the dina is spoken of as the slave flower merely because, in the north, it is, though delicate and beautiful, a reasonably common, unimportant flower; it is also easily plucked, being defenseless, and can be easily crushed, overwhelmed and, if one wishes, discarded. Slave Girl of Gor (pgs 61-62)

fern - most likely these are similar to the ferns on Earth...these plants are mentioned in Nomads of Gor when Tarl moves through a garden in Turia.

festal - this shrub is found in the Vosk Delta marshes

'What do you see?' I asked. 'Shrubbery.' He said, 'some grass, some rence, two trees.' 'What sort of shrubbery?' I asked. 'Some festal,' he said. 'some tes, a bit of tor.' Vagabonds of Gor (pg 339)

flahdah - located in the Tahari...these trees somewhat resemble the palm trees of Earth with thier leaning trunks

Occasionally we passed a water hole, and the tents of nomads. About some of these water holes there were a dozen or so small trees, flahdah trees, like flat topped umbrellas on crooked sticks, not more than twenty feet high; they are narrow branched, with lanceolate leaves.... Tribesmen of Gor (pg 72)

flaminium - a five petaled scarlet flower with large buds

There was a shallow bowl of flowers, scarlet, large-budded, five-petaled flaminiums, on the small, low table between us. Hunters of Gor (pg 154)

flower tree - this tree grows clusters of various colored flowers..often the colors are muted and pale...bred for beauty, the flowers from this tree are often used for decorations

And so we sat with our backs against the flower tree in the House of Saphrar, merchant of Turia. I looked at the lovely, dangling loops of interwoven blossoms which hung from the curved branches of the tree. I knew that the clusters of flowers which; cluster upon cluster, graced those linear, hanging stems, would each be a bouquet in itself, for the trees are so bred that the clustered flowers emerge in subtle, delicate patterns of shades and hues.... Nomads of Gor (pg 217)

hogarthe tree - found in the Barrens near running water sources...this tall tree looks much like the poplar trees of Earth...they have dark green leaves and white colored bark

On the rise there were two trees, white barked trees, some fifty feet tall, with shimmering green leaves.... ... They were Hogarthe trees, named for Hogarthe, one of the early explorers in the area of the Barrens. They are not uncommon in the vicinity of water in the Barrens, usually growing along the banks of small streams or muddy, sluggish rivers. Their shape is very reminiscent of poplar trees on Earth, to which perhaps, in virtue of seeds brought to the Counter-Earth, they may be related. Blood Brothers of Gor (pg 300)

ka-la-na - the plant which bears the widely used red kalana fruit is a golden color and a source of strong, supple wood used for making a wide variety of products like ships and weapons...the Peasant Bow is made with kalana branches

Ho-Hak reached down and unwrapped the leather from the yellow bow of supple Ka-la-na.... Raiders of Gor (pg 19)

...Besides several of the flower trees there were also some Ka-la-na trees, or the yellow wine trees of Gor; ... Nomads of Gor (pg 217)

kanda - this shrub comes from the deserts...its roots contain a deadly poison..however, kanda leaves can be smoked or chewed and this has an addictive narcotic effect

Most was I surprised to find him holding a tiny, round pipe from which curled a bright wisp of smoke. Tobacco is unknown on Gor, though there are certain vices or habits to take its place, in particular the stimulation afforded by chewing on the leaves of the Kanda plant, the roots of which, oddly enough, when ground and dried, constitute an extremely deadly poison. Priest Kings of Gor (pg 24)

...Kutaituchik absently reached into a small golden box near his right knee and drew out a string of rolled kanda leaf. The roots of the kanda plant, which grows largely in desert regions on Gor, are extremely toxic, but, surprisingly, the rolled leaves of this plant, which are relatively innocuous, are formed into strings and, chewed or sucked, are much favored by many Goreans, particularly in the southern hemisphere, where the leaf is more abundant. Kutaituchik, not taking his eyes off us, thrust one end of the green kanda string in the left side of his mouth and, very slowly, began to chew it.... Nomads of Gor (pg 43)

kes - the roots of this shrub from the sandy deserts have a salty taste and are used as a seasoning in cooking...also, kes is a main ingrediant of sullage

...and the salty, blue secondary roots of the Kes shrub, a small, deeply rooted plant which grows best in sandy soil. Priest Kings of Gor (pg 45)

leech plant - having its name from the fact that it feeds on blood...this plant has two hollow fang-like 'needles' that are thrust into the vicitm...then, used like straws, the blood is sucked up to the plant as a food source

Once I shouted in pain. Two fangs had struck into my calf. An ost, I thought! But the fangs held fast, and I heard the popping, sucking sound of the bladder like seedpods of a leech plant, as they expanded and contracted like small ugly lungs. I reached down and jerked the plant from the soil at the side of the road. It writhed in my hand like a snake, its pods gasping. I jerked the two fanglike thorns from my leg. The leech plant strikes like a cobra, and fastens two hollow thorns into its victim. The chemical responses of the bladderlike pods produce a mechanical pumping action, and the blood is sucked into the plant to nourish it. As I tore the thing from my leg, glad that the sting had not been that of the venomous ost, the three hurtling moons of Gor broke from the dark cover of the clouds. I held the quivering plant up. Then I twisted it apart. Already my blood, black in the silvery night, mixed with the juices of the plant, stained the stem even to the roots. In a matter of perhaps two or three seconds, it had drawn perhaps a gill of liquid. With a shudder I hurled the loathsome plant away from the road. Normally such plants are cleared away from the sides of the roads and from inhabited areas. They are primarily dangerous to children and small animals, but a grown man who might lose his footing among them would not be likely to survive. Outlaw of Gor (pg 33)

liana vine - found 'creeping' on the Schendi rainforest floor...this plant can be used as a source for water

...Another useful source of water is the liana vine. One makes the first cut high, over one's head, to keep the water from being withdrawn by contraction and surface adhesion up the vine. The second cut, made a foot or so from the ground, gives a vine tube which, drained, yields in the neighborhood of a liter of water.... Explorers of Gor (pg 310)

maize - while travelling through the Barrens corn(maize) fields are spotted

needle tree - an evergreen tree that gorws within the northern forests of Gor...its wood is strong and used in the making of sea worthy ships...its needles have oil which is used to make perfume

...and the needle trees, the evergreens, for masts and spars, and cabin and deck planking. Raiders of Gor (pg 141)

palm tree - there are around fifteen hundred types of these trees in the Schendi jungles...they mostly resemble the trees of the same name on Earth...the fan palm can be used as a water source

There is an incredible variety of trees in the rain forest, how many I cannot conjecture. There are, however, more than fifteen hundred varieties and types of palm alone. Some of these palms have leaves which are twenty feet in length. One type of palm, the fan palm, more than twenty feet high, which spreads its leaves in the form of an opened fan, is an excellent source of pure water, as much as a liter of such water being found, almost as though cupped, at the base of each leaf's stem. Raiders of Gor (pg 141)

I then rose to my feet and walked a few yards away, to a fan palm. From the base of one of its broad leaves I gathered a double handful of fresh water. I retuned to the girl and, carefully, washed out the wound. She winced. I then cut some leaves and wrapped them about it. I tied shut some leaves and wrapped them about it. I tied shut this simple bandage with the tendrils of a carpet plant. Explorers of Gor (pg 347)

rence - grown in the marshes...this plant is tufted and reed-like..the stems can be harvested and used for paper sold by merchants of the ports or cloth..the grain is boiled or ground into a paste and eaten..it can also be used as a fuel

A kind of paper is made from rence. The plant itself has a long, thick root, about four inches think, which lies horizontally under the surface of the water; small roots sink downward into the mud from the main root, and several "stems," as many as a dozen, rise from it, often of a length of fifteen to sixteen feet from the root; it has an excrescent, usually single floral spike. Raiders of Gor (pg 7)

...Then, from within the collar, he drew forth a thin, folded piece of paper, rence paper made from the fibers of the rence plant, a tall, long-stalked leafy plant which grows predominately in the delta of the Vosk.... Nomads of Gor (pg 49)

rep - similar to cotton and grown throughout Gor..this plant is used as a source of cloth

...Rep is a whitish fibrous matter found in the seed pods of a small, reddish, woody bush, commercially grown in several areas, but particularly below Ar and above the equator; the cheap rep-cloth is woven in mills, commonly, in various cities; it takes dyes well and, being cheap and strong, is popular, particularly among the lower castes.... Raiders of Gor (pgs 10-11)

sa-tarna - this staple crop of Gor is a yellow grain used for making bread, flour, and sa-paga

Economically, the base of the Gorean life was the free peasant, which was perhaps the lowest but undoubtedly the most fundamental caste, and the staple crop was a yellow grain called Sa-Tarna, or Life-Daughter.... Tarnsman of Gor (pg 43)

sim plant - grown in the pastures of the Preist King's Nest...this creeping, tangled vine plant bears huge rolling leaves

sip root - this bitter tasting root is the active ingrediant for slavewine

I held the object before her. She regarded it with dismay. 'I have already chewed sip root within the moon,' she said.... ...She did not need the sip root of course for, as she had pointed out, she had had some within the moon, and, indeed, the effect of sip root, in the raw state, in most women, is three or four moons.... Blood Brothers of Gor (pg 319)

...In the concentrated state, as in slave wine, developed by the Caste of Physicians, the effect is almost indefinite, usually requiring a releaser for its remission, usually administered, to a slave, in what is called breeding wine or the "second wine."... Blood Brothers of Gor (pg 319)

...Sip roots were extremely bitter. Slave wine, incidentally, is made from sip roots. The slaves of the red savages, like slaves generally on Gor, would be crossed and bred only as, and precisely as, their masters might choose. Blood Brothers of Gor (pgs 124-125)

talendar - this delicate ,small petaled, yellow flower is found in meadows and is a symbol of beauty, passion, and feminine love...often a crown of these pretty flowers will be worn by a Woman during Her FC Ceremony...slavegirls wear them in thier hair as a silent plea for rape

In the distance, perhaps some forth pasangs away, I saw of set of ridges, lofty and steep, rearing out of a broad, yellow meadow of talendars, a delicate, yellow-petaled flower, often woven into garlands by Gorean maidens.... Outlaw of Gor (pg 131)

.The talendar is a flower which, in the Gorean mind, is associated with beauty and passion. Free Companions, on the Feast of their Free Companionship, commonly wear a garland of talendars. Sometimes slave girls, having been subdued, but fearing to speak, will fix talendars in their hair, that their master may know that they have at last surrendered themselves to him as helpless love slaves.... Raiders of Gor (pgs 216-217)

...The talender, fixed in her hair, is a slave girl's wordless confession, which, commonly, she dares not speak, that she cares for her Master.... Hunters of Gor (pg 65)

telekint - found in the Tahari...these plant's roots can be mashed..when water is added a red dye is formed

The drover threw back the hood of his burnoose, and pulled down the veil about his face. Beneath the burnoose he wore a skullcap. The rep-cloth veil was red; it had been soaked in a primitive dye, mixed from water and the mashed roots of the telekint; when he perspired, it had run; his face was stained.... Tribesmen of Gor (pg 83)

tem - the wood of this tree is very dark and often used to make ships and floors and other items

...Tem-wood for rudders and oars; ... Raiders of Gor (pg 141)

...there was also, at one side of the garden, against the far wall, a grove of tem-wood, linear, black, supple.... Nomads of Gor (pg 217)

tes - this is mentioned to be found in t he Vosk Delta marshes..apparently a type of shrubbery

'What do you see?' I asked. 'Shrubbery.' He said, 'Some grass, some rence, two trees.' 'What sort of shrubbery?' I asked. 'Some festal,' he said. 'Some tes, a bit of tor.' Vagabonds of Gor (pg339)

teslik - the extract of this plant is a main ingrediant for breeding wine

tor - often located in the marshes..this flowering shrub produes buds of yellow or white

'What do you see?' I asked. 'Shrubbery.' He said, 'Some grass, some rence, two trees.' 'What sort of shrubbery?' I asked. 'Some festal,' he said. 'Some tes, a bit of tor.' 'You are sure it is a tor shrub?' I asked. He looked. 'Yes,' he said. 'I too, think it is a tor shrub,' I said. The shrub has various names but one of them is the tor shrub, which name might be fairly translated, I would think, as, say, the bright shrub, or the shrub of light, it having that name, I suppose, because of its abundant, bright flowers, either yellow or white, depending on the variety. It was a very lovely shrub in bloom. It was not in bloom now, of course, as it flowers in the fall. He looked at me. 'So?' he asked. 'Do you notice anything unusual about it?' I asked. 'No,' he said. 'How high is it?' I asked. 'I would say some five feet in height,' he said. 'That too, would be my estimate,' I said. 'I do not understand,' he said. 'Does that not seem interesting to you?' I asked. 'Not really,' he said. 'It does to me,' I said. 'Why?' he asked. 'The tor shrub,' I said, 'does not grow higher than a man's waist.' Vagabonds of Gor (pg339)

tospit bush - this shrub grows the popular fruit, tospit, that is often used in Gorean cooking and as a garnish..the bush grows usually in the Cartius Valley

...I raced past a wooden wand fixed in the earth, on top of which was placed a dried tospit, a small, wrinkled, yellowish-white, peachlike fruit, about the size of a plum, which grows on the tospit bush, patches of which are indigenous to the drier valleys of the western Cartius. They are bitter but edible. Nomads of Gor (pg 59)

tur - this large tree is liek the redwoods of Earth...the branches host the Tur-Pah plant parasite with edible leaves...this tree is used to make many things..often ships

..There was one large trunked reddish Tur tree, about which curled its assemblage of Tur-Pah, a vinelike tree parasite with curled scarlet, ovate leaves, rather lovely to look upon; the leaves of the Tur-Pah incidentally are edible and figure in certain Gorean dishes,; such as sullage, a kind of soup; long ago, I had heard, a Tur tree was found on the prairie, near a spring, planted perhaps long before by someone who passed by; it was from that Tur tree that the city of Turia took its name; ... Nomads of Gor (pg 217)

...The forests of the northern temperate latitudes of Gor are countries in themselves, covering hundreds of thousands of square pasangs of area. They contain great numbers of various species of trees, and different portions of the forests may differ considerably among themselves. The most typical and famous tree of these forests is the lofty, reddish Tur tree, some varieties of which grow more than two hundred feet high. It is not known how far these forests extend.... We found ourselves now in a stand of the lofty Tur trees. I could see broadly spreading branches some two hundred feet or more above my head. The trunks of the trees were almost bare of branches until, so far above, branches seemed to explode in an interlacing blanket of foliage, almost obliterating the sky..... Captive of Gor (pg 130)

...Tur wood is used for galley frames, and beams and clamps and posts, and for hull planking; ... Raiders of Gor (pg 141)

veminium - there are two types of this plant.....the veminium grows o nthe Thentis range and is small and blue...the desert veminium if more of a purple hue and grows in the Tahari..both of which can be used in perfume making

The atmosphere of the pool was further charged with the fragrance of Veminium, a kind of bluish wild flower commonly found on the lower slopes of the Thentis range Assassin of Gor (pg 163)

The petals of veminium, the "Desert Verminium," purplish, as opposed to the "Thentis Verminium," bluish, which flower grows at the edge of the Tahari, gathered in a shallow baskets and carried to a still, are boiled in water. The vapor which boils off is condensed into oil. This oil is used to perfume water. This water is not drunk but is used in middle and upper-class homes to rinse the eating hand, before and after the evening meal. Tribesmen of Gor (pgs 50-51)

verr grass - this brown grass grows within the Tahari in shady places

On the shaded sides of some rocks, and the shaded slopes of hills, here and there, grew stubborn, brownish patches of verr grass. Tribesmen of Gor (pgs 71-72)