Zentetsuken wrote:I think a few additional plants can be added to fill in this gap though
The main trait of such plant needs to be to stick out of a snow cover, as we already have taproot and nettle now, it's just they're legitimately covered with snow. Or... should nettle be not?
I like it! It looks high enough to stick out of snow. Especially AFAIK it was more traditional source of tea in Russia than those southern tea bushes.
Zentetsuken wrote:some plants persist through winter, some just leave behind dead plant material that can still be used for reliable cordage
Yes, to give different edible/usable parts and string in summer, while only string in winter.
Zentetsuken wrote:allowing cattails to spawn through winter, since I think they persist through winter too
I googled "cattails in winter" and it seems so, they persist in winter. It will be a cool solution to have them sticking out of ice so they can be harvested for string only (or maybe with roots if ice was broken?). But how they can be made to exist but not grow, i.e. not appear? Or this unreal behavior can be tolerated?