Ginger

From Turtledove

Ginger is a root which grows in many places on Earth. Used as a spice by humans, it was found to have a powerful narcotic effect on both males and females of the Race, and to disrupt the hormonal balance of females, causing them to become fertile and emit sexual pheromones which attract males every time they taste it regardless of whether they are in their mating seasons.

It is most commonly pulverized. The powder is poured onto the palm of a taster's hand and licked up, but it can also be consumed by biting off pieces of a whole ginger root--which produces a much stronger high. Lime cured ginger is especially appealing.

Atvar quickly banned ginger when it was found to lower the combat readiness of the males of the Conquest Fleet, and his ban has been confirmed by every subsequent Race authority figure to come into contact with the herb. However, these bans have proven extraordinarily difficult to enforce as ginger is both powerfully addictive for the Race and extremely lucrative to smugglers of every species. (Many human smugglers, including Pierre Dutourd and Rance Auerbach, were secretly encouraged by various Earth governments to disrupt the Race's culture.) One major attack on Australia included missiles armed with warheads which shot clouds of powdered ginger into the air.

Though ginger is not native to Home, it had become firmly entrenched there long before the arrival of Tosevites on the Admiral Peary, which made some effort to introduce additional ginger into the black market.