Aspen
- Aspen Trees are said to house the
anoan of children. Local legends tell of treasure buried beneath them, but only a direct ray of moonlight at a specific time would reveal where.
Beech
The Beech is used in numerous rituals on Kala-Hanv
Boxwood
A funerary plant. Pinned to funeral chapels during ceremonies alongside sprigs of mistletoe.
Branches of Boxwood burning in a fireplace signal the parents’ refusal to any union for their child when a suitor comes calling.
Broom
Symbolizes promiscuity
Cabbage
Symbolizes greed
Cauliflower
Symbolizes Jealousy
Chestnuts
Considered a strong wood, used for ploughs and tools.
Eaten around Kalan-Goañv
Cornflower
The vibrant blue cornflower is used to treat eye maladies.
Devil's Ear
A carnivorous plant of the sundew family, found in many of the rivers of Letha
Dogflower
Resembles Common Verbena
Used to treat snake bites. It is sun-dried for a month, then ground and mixed with rye flour and egg whites to make a paste.
Mixed with vinegar to treat headaches
Crushed with salt to stop bleeding
Harvested after circling widdershins while the Dog Star rises and neither sun nor moon shines.
Eagle Fern
The spores of an Eagle Fern, harvested on the Festival of False Sunset are imbued with the Foyson of the midsummer sun, granting both magical protection and potency. Midsummer ferns are used in a a variety of alchemical creations, including truth serums and potions that grant improved insight. Ferns from the deepest part of deep wells, at least 100 Fathoms below the surface, are used in invisibility potions. The spores of both types of ferns must be gathered with a clean white cloth, losing all powers if they touch the ground. No iron can be used in its harvest and it must be gathered with the left hand.
Fir
Symbolizes wickedness
Golden Grass
One of the most magically potent of the Lethan plants, Golden Grass is highly prized by Similherez and alchemists alike. This rare herb glows with a soft golden light like a candle's flame at night, which fades when approached vanishing entirely at close range. Patches of golden grass, found in hay fields, are never larger than one square meter, an astoundingly rare size in itself. It is only found in fields with three corners.
Golden grass is eaten by green woodpeckers and the Arcadian Brassbeak, sharpening both of the creatures beaks to the point where they can pierce iron.
It cannot be harvested by iron, must be approached barefoot, wearing only a shirt, and must not touch the ground before being collected in a clean white cloth. It must be harvested by the left hand and carried in the right.
Golden Grass grants a tenfold increase to strength, allows powerful glamours of invisibility to be cast and heals many sicknesses. Golden Grass can grant the user the ability to understand the language of dogs, wolves and birds. It is an invaluable ingredient in the transmutation of metals.
When Golden Grass is cut, the sky opens up in a brief rain shower. When it falls into running water, it travels against the current, a trait which can be exploited to separate the precious grass from its worthless mundane counterpart that grows alongside it.
Golden Grass is typically only found in the Western Penn-ar-Bed, but has been found in smaller quantities elsewhere.
Laurel
Symbolizes laziness. Considered ill-fated to plant.
Mistletoe
See Mistletoe
A funerary plant. Pinned to funeral chapels during ceremonies with boxwood branches.
White Clover
The white clover has become a symbol of Gouren, Lethan wrestling, based on an old superstition to bring luck in the sport. The belief holds that such a clover can be harvested at night from the stem with the teeth of the aspirant, careful to not touch the plant to hand or ground. If kept in the mouth all night until the start of the tournament, it will bring luck in the fight. As a reference to this folk tradition, the winner of a gouren bout is awarded a brooch or pin representing a four-leaf white clover in the precious metal available to the community.
White clover is also a key component in Cloversalve, an ointment that, when applied to the eyes, allows a viewer to pierce glamour.
White Tears
A lily-like plant with bell-shaped white flowers. A symbol of springtime courtship
The Seven Sacred Trees
Alder (Gwernenn)
Associated with resurrection, Alderwood is used for healing staves and wands, and is favoured by specialists in Fis.
Alder sap is used as a protection against evil.
Apple (Aval)
The Apple Tree is a symbol of bounty and immortality, a tree of great bounty. Apples are one of the greatest sources of Foyson in the world and are highly prized as a result Applewood is used for staves and wands useful for earth arkane. Emain Ablach, the Isle of Apples, takes its name from a magical variety of apple tree, which grows with silver branches and golden fruit, found throughout the isle.
More directly, it also symbolizes drunkenness, being the source of Cidre
Ash (Onenn)
The sacred Ash Tree is central to Kala-Hañv and is considered a vessel of fire. It cannot be harvested and used for construction, even when wood is scarce, because doing so would invite the fire spirits to burn down the structure when unleashed. The exception for this comes during the Kala-Hañv celebrations, where the fire spirits are drawn off by the large bonfires. Ashwood is resilient against magical attacks and for channelling fire magic. Its sap can be used for medicinal purposes and its seedpods are used in divination rituals.
Elder (Skavenn)
Also called the Faerie Tree, the Elder Tree is the gatekeeper of Faerie and the Guardian of the Trees. Nemed is said to have left Old Faerie by passing through and archway of two Elder Trees. Its wood is used in defensive Arkane. When harvesting its wood or other trees nearby, permission is ritually asked of the Elder with a gift of rags tied around the tree. If a ritual cut bled sap, the tree could not be cut down.
Hazel (Kraoñklevezenn)
Hazel Trees are symbols of balance, reflecting the state of the land, a tree crossing the border between life and death. Hazel trees grow at the heads of the seven chief rivers of Emain Ablach, as well as near sacred wells. It is associated with water and water magic.
Hazel leaves and nuts are commonly included in burials throughout the North. Hazel trees without leaves are thought to be evil, associated with decay, the running sap becoming a deadly poison. Burning hazelwood in a hearth is considered taboo. Hazel wands are considered badges of office for Fae heralds, and carry an aspect of water. The Hazel is thought to be the source of wisdom and the bard of the trees and is sacred to poets and artists, as its nuts are said to grant mystical inspiration and insight.
Hazel branches make for the most powerful wands and staves.
Oak (Dervenn)
The Oak is the most important sacred tree in the Druidic cosmology, the Ard Banrí of the Trees. A great oak is often the central focus of a Nemeton, either physically or symbolically. The Oak is a key portion of the Ritual of the White Bulls during Nedeleg celebrations, where druids travel deep into the forest armed with golden sickles to harvest mistletoe, caught on pure white sheets held below, never allowed to touch the ground. Oak is also a powerful amplifier of Arkane power and the tallest branches of the great trees are, after being struck by lightning, used for the creation of magical staves and wands. Daron is the goddess of Oak and the Queen of the Trees. Numerous creatures of Fae and Sluagh, such as the Iannic-ann-ôd cannot cross a barrier of oak. The Kornikaned prefer to reside in Oakwood.
Yew (Ivinenn)
The poisonous Yew is a symbol of Death and shelter. The scythe and wagon of the Ankou are made from Yew, and are said to be able to interact directly with Anaon (souls). The canopy of the Nemeton are often dominated by the interlocking branches of the Yew.
General Folklore
Trees are often thought to house the souls of the dead in some manner. This is common with Aspens (children), Apples (Tied to a child who would have died at childbirth, but now smypathetically connected to their health), Oaks (those requiring redemption). Boxwoods and Laurels also have these connotations.
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