Azure Mountain Clover

High in the Tyrnzig Mountains, near the snow capped peaks that reach reach for the clouds, are small light blue patches of clover tucked around rocky outcrops. These small clover patches are rare and highly valued for their incredible healing properties. They stand out against the stark white frost of the mountain peaks and gather around barren rocky surfaces, their roots stretching out instead of down. A select few adventurous apothecaries and coin-seeking merchants travel high to the treacherous peaks to gather this rare commodity for some quick, if not easy, gold. Expensive healing potions are made with the plant by boiling the roots and crushing the flower, while the sap is bled from the short stems for a topical salve. The rarity of this plant makes it incredibly expensive and only a handful of apothecaries can actually utilize the delicate plant without utterly destroying it and ruining their concoctions. The price of Azure Mountain Clover is told in the Tale of Sir Bodwig, the Blue when he spends a full year travelling the peaks of the mountains to gather a pound of the plant which he then uses to buy himself a title of nobility and a fair maidens hand.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The clover grows out across the top of rocky outcrops with stark white roots stretching to the very edge of the frost. Along the top of the root system are short one to three inch stems topped with four to eight leaves. From the center of these leaves will bloom a light blue head of two dozen or so spiky flowers. At the heart of the blossom a single seed will be found, from this another patch may grow if the winds carry it to the proper rocky conditions.

Growth Rate & Stages

Observation of the plant is difficult due to the altitudes and environments it is found in exclusively. The few records by frost bitten scholars claim that a single windswept seed can sprout an entire patch by itself. These indicate that it may take as long as three weeks for the root system to spread across the the top of the of the rocky patch and should any snow or frost touch the root system at this stage the entire process will pause for up to three days. It is believed that the plant will then sprout these blooms and can survive the frost and being covered for an indeterminate amount of time.

Ecology and Habitats

High altitudes, below freezing temperatures, and firm rocky ground.