Quorbl weed

The quorbl weed was a plant native to Laikeer, a predominantly oceanic world in the. A type of seaweed, it grew underwater in particularly fertile silt deposits, and was brilliant red and pink in color.

Though it possessed some meager nutritional value for both Laikeer's native sentients, the Laatls, and various insentient underwater herbivores, the quorbl weed's true value to the Laatls was as a breathing aid. The quorbl weed had the ability to retain enormous amounts of water for its size, achieving nearly completely saturation when it was soaked. Laatls would wrap a stretch of quorbl weed several times around their throats before venturing out of the water; the water-soaked weed around their gills made breathing open air comfortable, and the fluid density of the weed was such that Laatls could spend up to half a day in dry air before the weed dried out and needed to be soaked again.

Quorbl weed was tough and could be soaked and reused dozens of times before it required replacement, and as such it was very popular with Laatls who ventured off Laikeer. With the introduction of technology from the Golden Empire, mechanical rebreathers were created to cater to the Laatls, but many preferred the native quorbl weed, which both had a connection with their homeworld and was markedly less expensive.