Rainbowberry

The rainbowberry or rainberry is a plant that grows in humid climates as well as the name of the fruit it bears.

Etymology
Its name comes from the multicolored berries it grows which bear similarity to rainbows as well as the fact it grows best in rainy areas.

Climate
The rainbowberry bush grows well in areas with a wide range of temperatures as long as rainfall is abundant, from coniferous forests to rainforests.

Fruit
The rainbowberry fruit can be red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple in color.

The colors of the rainbowberries produced by a bush change depending on the climate. Bushes in hotter climates bear more red and orange fruits and bushes in colder climates bear more blue and purple ones.

The berries of different colors have different stimulant or depressant effects, with red berries being a strong stimulant, yellow being a mild stimulant, green ones being a mild depressant and blue ones being a strong depressant.

Derived products
Liquors distilled from the rainbowberries are known as rainshines.

Most of the effect of the berries disappears during the distillation process, but some still remains. Red and orange rainshines made from the red and orange berries are sometimes used as energy drinks. However, because of the loss of effect, it is typically preferred to distill the liquors from the berries with milder effects, and thus yellow and green rainshines are more common.

Cultural significance
Rainbowberry bushes are of cultural significance to Icarians, who produce and consume them in large amounts. Rainbowberry has been consumed in Icaria for thousands of years.