Stitchvine
Stitchvine is a common medicinal climbing plant found throughout much of temperate Kermoria, particularly along woodland margins, riverbanks, hedgerows, rocky slopes, and old stonework. Its long, flexible vines climb by means of curling tendrils ending in small adhesive pads, allowing the plant to cling stubbornly to trees, exposed rock, masonry, and almost anything else capable of supporting its weight. Unlike the aggressively invasive Lifevine, Stitchvine rarely overwhelms the vegetation around it, and its relative abundance has made it a familiar sight to herbalists, country healers, surgeons, and anyone unfortunate enough to regularly put people back together.
The plant is valued primarily for its thick adhesive sap, which begins to set rapidly when exposed to air. Fresh Stitchvine sap adheres particularly well to skin and other organic tissue and contracts slightly as it cures, allowing it to draw together and hold the edges of a properly cleaned wound. Conveniently, the vine's inner layers contain long, tough, flexible fibers that can be peeled into narrow strips or individual strands. Healers commonly lay these fibers across a wound and saturate them with the plant's own sap, creating a surprisingly strong closure that gradually tightens as it dries. Finer prepared fibers may instead be used as sutures or surgical ties, while diluted sap is incorporated into salves where its adhesive properties are easier to control.
Stitchvine does relatively little to heal a wound by itself; its great virtue is keeping damaged tissue properly aligned while the body—or another medicine—does the actual repair. For this reason it is frequently paired with antiseptic and restorative herbs such as Mendleaf, with one treating the injury while the other holds everything where the healer put it. Alchemical refinement amplifies this affinity for joining damaged tissues, making Stitchvine useful in both ordinary and Greater Healing Potions, particularly those intended to treat deep cuts, torn muscles, and other injuries in which tissue has been badly separated but not actually lost. It remains useless for true regeneration: Stitchvine can put two pieces back together, but it cannot make a missing piece grow back.
The plant is valued primarily for its thick adhesive sap, which begins to set rapidly when exposed to air. Fresh Stitchvine sap adheres particularly well to skin and other organic tissue and contracts slightly as it cures, allowing it to draw together and hold the edges of a properly cleaned wound. Conveniently, the vine's inner layers contain long, tough, flexible fibers that can be peeled into narrow strips or individual strands. Healers commonly lay these fibers across a wound and saturate them with the plant's own sap, creating a surprisingly strong closure that gradually tightens as it dries. Finer prepared fibers may instead be used as sutures or surgical ties, while diluted sap is incorporated into salves where its adhesive properties are easier to control.
Stitchvine does relatively little to heal a wound by itself; its great virtue is keeping damaged tissue properly aligned while the body—or another medicine—does the actual repair. For this reason it is frequently paired with antiseptic and restorative herbs such as Mendleaf, with one treating the injury while the other holds everything where the healer put it. Alchemical refinement amplifies this affinity for joining damaged tissues, making Stitchvine useful in both ordinary and Greater Healing Potions, particularly those intended to treat deep cuts, torn muscles, and other injuries in which tissue has been badly separated but not actually lost. It remains useless for true regeneration: Stitchvine can put two pieces back together, but it cannot make a missing piece grow back.
“Stitchvine's great, man. Holds a wound shut beautifully. Just clean it first. Otherwise you're basically gluing the infection in there with you.” - Xelten, Master Herbalist
Type
Organic
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