Post by Head Moderator on Jan 31, 2012 20:39:06 GMT -5
FLORA
FLORA
Death Nettle
A giant variety of common nettle, it has arrow-head shaped leaves, greyish varagated foliage and is covered in razor sharp, poisonous spines. The poison causes severe pain as well as violent muscle spasams which could cause a victim to fall, possibily into more nettle. Since large doses will disrupt breathing, falling into the patch is not a good outcome.
The toxin (which is a neurotoxin) biodegrades rapidly and will not keep well if harvested from the plant.
Gildleaf
Gildleaf, also known as the Lightning Tree in Bryony and Miser’s Burden in Sarkotos, is an offshoot of the oak family, with a rust-red bark on the trunk and branches; the leaves are a rich green with faint traces of golden veins in the early seasons, but as autumn rolls around the green gives way as the golden hue spreads. In mid to late autumn, the trees often exude a scent of ozone; as the trees begin to shed their leaves, cracks and pops are often heard in the mountains as the dull red acorns are flung from the tree in small bursts of sparks, flying as far away as fifty feet before hitting the ground.
The first of the tree’s colloquial names, Lightning Tree, stems from both these bursts of sparks during the late autumn and the way lightning strikes are drawn to the oaks due to their relatively high metal content. The second name derives from the way the tree’s branches drop and sag in the autumn, giving the entire plant a hunched-over and joyless look as it glistens with golden leaves, much like a miser hoarding coins.
Gildleaf grows most readily in areas where the soil contains relatively high levels of iron and gold; thus the hardiest groves are found alongside streams in the mountains, and their presence is seen as evidence that a hopeful prospector is on the right track to strike it rich. The plants draw on the iron to strengthen their limbs and trunk, and to imbue the acorns with enough of the ferrous metal to respond to electrical charges; the gold is seen primarily in the autumn, as the tree’s leaves become natural photovoltaic panels, building an electrical charge within small nodules that the tree’s acorns hang from. When the charge passes the level that the heavily metallic nodes can contain, they discharge, creating a strong pulse of electromagnetic energy that hurls the nearest acorns away on wild arcs. Living creatures in contact with the tree as this happens are likely to receive a strong electrical shock, enough to stun a grown man.
The leaves are prized when they fall due to the concentrations of gold in them; while a single leaf contains only a tiny amount, the complete shedding of a tree’s leaves are sufficient to fetch a good price from any jeweler or alchemist who has need of gold. Mountain-dwelling races sometimes cultivate the trees as a result, burying pulverized gold ore in the groves and selling the resulting autumnal fall to the lowland races.
Gildleaf wood is also prized by those who know of the remarkably sturdiness of it; used as structural supports, it can ensure a building’s ability to remain standing where those crafted of a more common wood collapse, and the metallic density makes it a difficult material to burn. When it does, however, it tends to release toxic smoke, and the ashes often retain a burning heat for long hours after other materials have gone cold.
King's Finger
A small stalky flower that many would first guess as a weed. Small sharp bends on its stalk threaten sharpness but bend under the smallest amount of pressure. The small groupings of thumbnail sized flowers are a dirty off-white color that are simply ugly. To smell the flower is to conjure a vision of decaying tree rot.
Not many would give it a second chance, but those that have realized that if the flower and stalk are mixed in equal proportions, boiled for 3 hours, and strained that they make the best handwashing water known. The subtle scent perfumes the hand just barely while the strength of it is enough to get the most stubborn boar or deer grease off the gnarliest of fingernails with a single dip.
Night Eyes
Night eyes are tiny, delicate, pale blue flowers with white stigma. They only open at night, and have a unique tendency to point to the middle of the three moons.
Even when the night eyes plant is moved, the flowers still point to the middle moon, but it may take a few hours for them to turn to the correct point. Night eyes will continue to point towards it until just before dawn.
Sunflowers
A sunflower soaks up sunlight during the day, using most of it for photosynthesis as all plants do. However, a very small portion of the sunlight is stored within the plant’s petals. When crushed, the petals release the sunlight in a flash. Intensity is based on how much sunlight has been absorbed; a plant of first bloom will barely sparkle, while a pollinating sunflower is quite potent. This is simply a self-defense mechanism, but knowledgeable persons can take advantage of it.
If the petals are distilled and drank, it makes a breath weapon of sunlight capable of blinding opponents and wounding creatures sensitive to light. Such a brew has a strong, burning flavor that can only be described as tasting like sunlight. The petals must be handled very carefully, otherwise they will discharge their stored light and become useless, thus such potions are rare.
FLORA
Death Nettle
A giant variety of common nettle, it has arrow-head shaped leaves, greyish varagated foliage and is covered in razor sharp, poisonous spines. The poison causes severe pain as well as violent muscle spasams which could cause a victim to fall, possibily into more nettle. Since large doses will disrupt breathing, falling into the patch is not a good outcome.
The toxin (which is a neurotoxin) biodegrades rapidly and will not keep well if harvested from the plant.
Gildleaf
Gildleaf, also known as the Lightning Tree in Bryony and Miser’s Burden in Sarkotos, is an offshoot of the oak family, with a rust-red bark on the trunk and branches; the leaves are a rich green with faint traces of golden veins in the early seasons, but as autumn rolls around the green gives way as the golden hue spreads. In mid to late autumn, the trees often exude a scent of ozone; as the trees begin to shed their leaves, cracks and pops are often heard in the mountains as the dull red acorns are flung from the tree in small bursts of sparks, flying as far away as fifty feet before hitting the ground.
The first of the tree’s colloquial names, Lightning Tree, stems from both these bursts of sparks during the late autumn and the way lightning strikes are drawn to the oaks due to their relatively high metal content. The second name derives from the way the tree’s branches drop and sag in the autumn, giving the entire plant a hunched-over and joyless look as it glistens with golden leaves, much like a miser hoarding coins.
Gildleaf grows most readily in areas where the soil contains relatively high levels of iron and gold; thus the hardiest groves are found alongside streams in the mountains, and their presence is seen as evidence that a hopeful prospector is on the right track to strike it rich. The plants draw on the iron to strengthen their limbs and trunk, and to imbue the acorns with enough of the ferrous metal to respond to electrical charges; the gold is seen primarily in the autumn, as the tree’s leaves become natural photovoltaic panels, building an electrical charge within small nodules that the tree’s acorns hang from. When the charge passes the level that the heavily metallic nodes can contain, they discharge, creating a strong pulse of electromagnetic energy that hurls the nearest acorns away on wild arcs. Living creatures in contact with the tree as this happens are likely to receive a strong electrical shock, enough to stun a grown man.
The leaves are prized when they fall due to the concentrations of gold in them; while a single leaf contains only a tiny amount, the complete shedding of a tree’s leaves are sufficient to fetch a good price from any jeweler or alchemist who has need of gold. Mountain-dwelling races sometimes cultivate the trees as a result, burying pulverized gold ore in the groves and selling the resulting autumnal fall to the lowland races.
Gildleaf wood is also prized by those who know of the remarkably sturdiness of it; used as structural supports, it can ensure a building’s ability to remain standing where those crafted of a more common wood collapse, and the metallic density makes it a difficult material to burn. When it does, however, it tends to release toxic smoke, and the ashes often retain a burning heat for long hours after other materials have gone cold.
King's Finger
A small stalky flower that many would first guess as a weed. Small sharp bends on its stalk threaten sharpness but bend under the smallest amount of pressure. The small groupings of thumbnail sized flowers are a dirty off-white color that are simply ugly. To smell the flower is to conjure a vision of decaying tree rot.
Not many would give it a second chance, but those that have realized that if the flower and stalk are mixed in equal proportions, boiled for 3 hours, and strained that they make the best handwashing water known. The subtle scent perfumes the hand just barely while the strength of it is enough to get the most stubborn boar or deer grease off the gnarliest of fingernails with a single dip.
Night Eyes
Night eyes are tiny, delicate, pale blue flowers with white stigma. They only open at night, and have a unique tendency to point to the middle of the three moons.
Even when the night eyes plant is moved, the flowers still point to the middle moon, but it may take a few hours for them to turn to the correct point. Night eyes will continue to point towards it until just before dawn.
Sunflowers
A sunflower soaks up sunlight during the day, using most of it for photosynthesis as all plants do. However, a very small portion of the sunlight is stored within the plant’s petals. When crushed, the petals release the sunlight in a flash. Intensity is based on how much sunlight has been absorbed; a plant of first bloom will barely sparkle, while a pollinating sunflower is quite potent. This is simply a self-defense mechanism, but knowledgeable persons can take advantage of it.
If the petals are distilled and drank, it makes a breath weapon of sunlight capable of blinding opponents and wounding creatures sensitive to light. Such a brew has a strong, burning flavor that can only be described as tasting like sunlight. The petals must be handled very carefully, otherwise they will discharge their stored light and become useless, thus such potions are rare.