Hag Lamp

"Step and step, wading through the gloom,
Step and step, watch the blue!
Step and step, too fast, too close, too soon!
Step and step, the hag lamps lead to doom."

--Old nursery rhyme, warning of walking too close to deep marshes.

A variation of Garlic native to Atalanta, it makes its home in the humid marshes. While it is loved as an ingredient in a variety of dishes, gaining sweetness or sourness depending on how it's prepared, it's also a plant of supernatural superstition. It is often said that Hags in the swamps would plant large patches of Hag Lamp in the deeper end of swamps, and when wayward travelers would be drawn in by their blue bioluminescence, they'd be trapped in the mud and at the Hags' mercy. While that story is mostly false, it does have a lot of uses in potion-making as well.

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Basic Information

Anatomy

Hag Lamp starts from a thick coil of soft roots that weave best through moist peat and mud. These roots eventually splinter off and bloom, with larger roots producing thick stalks that go above the swamp water while the smaller ones bloom into small white flowers that rest right at the water level. Eventually, from the center of the stalks, a violet bulb will begin to grow and bloom outward, growing pure white when ripe.

Genetics and Reproduction

Hag Lamp is reproduced by planting their individual cloves, from which roots will grow out in multiple directions. Most deliberate cultivators will come up with methods to limit root growth, but in the wild, they grow randomly and with great speed.

Growth Rate & Stages

From a clove, roots will grow for about a week before they begin to sprout stalks or flowers. It'll take the flowers roughly two weeks to bloom at the surface of the water, and stalks will take three weeks to grow to their full height. From there, the small violet bulb grows in another month, and it can be technically harvested at this point. However, for it to reach its full bulb, it'll take about another month of growth to produce a palm-sized bulb. This bulb will still retain a bit of its violet coloring despite being mostly white and is the most common stage for harvesting. However, after another month it'll become pure white, and this is the most flavorful time to harvest it.
After reaching that final stage of growth, after another two months, the outer layers of the bulb will begin to break down, creating a bioluminescent film around itself. Once the layer is entirely broken down, it'll fall into the soil/water, providing nutrients to the roots and any other plants around it, moving on to the next layer until the bulb is fully gone. 
After harvest or decomposition, it takes the stalk a month before a new bulb starts blooming.

Ecology and Habitats

Hag Lamp grows best in the mineral-rich swamps of Atalanta. The soft peat allows the roots to spread easily, and the often still waters allow them to remain bobbing rather than having to root too deeply, aided by the flowers at their base. While they are possible to grow in soil, they'll grow much shallower roots and often just one bulb stalk.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Aside from their natural luminescence lighting up areas of the Atalantan marshes, especially where they grow wildly in large patches, Hag Lamp is a sought-after ingredient just like other Garlic bulbs. Hag Lamp specifically has a slightly different flavor to standard garlic, having a sweeter or more sour bite to it depending on how it's prepared. It and its decomposing skins are also popular potion ingredients, increasing the intensity of certain ingredients and being a good ingredient in divinatory potions as well.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Hag Lamp is a variation of Garlic found specifically in Atalanta's marsh regions. The humid, temperate environment and loose yet still soil are favorable for its specific growth. While it can be grown in any fertile soil, it's naturally found there only.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

While it isn't a direct symbiosis, Glow-Hunter Frogs often feed on the bioluminescent skins of the Hag Lamp, which allows unused bulbs to decompose quicker and new ones to sprout and gives the frog the nutrients found in the skins.

Scientific Name

Allium Obsessĭo

Lifespan

Six months post-ripening

Average Height

Three feet root to bulb

Average Weight

Roughly 1/3 of a pound.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

When growing, the plant itself is a desaturated green, and the bulb sprouts as a vibrant violet, slowly turning pure white as it ripens. When its outside layers begin to decompose, they let off faint blue bioluminescence, giving it its name.