Username: Pocketdog9
Theme: Weird, Wild Plants
Species: Lacy Tree Philodendron,
Philodendron bipinnatifidum
Entry Type: Lore/Writing
Comment (Optional): This is the Lacy Tree Philodendron, and it is HUGE! A single leaf can grow up to 1.5m (or about 5 ft.) long, and each is suspended on a long, lanky petiole that extends from the trunk. Yes, trunk, which develops eye-shaped leaf scars and can grow aerial roots to support itself. Hilariously, it may not be the only trunk around, because although this philodendron is perfectly capable of supporting itself, it’s known to exhibit epiphytic tendencies towards nearby trees and will cling to them for extra support! I am now genuinely in love with this plant.
https://s.ecrater.com/stores/59305/4e80c66062b4c_59305b.jpg
Entry:
It was a miracle of the Gladekeeper that Beeaznan had been able to make it out at all.
While her fae mentor and said fae’s mate were occupied with expanding and reorganizing the rapidly-growing clan (seriously, where did Maowellen keep finding all these hatchlings?), Beeaznan was volunteering to be the matriarch’s stand-in at the second annual Sornieth Naturalists Society conference. Her entourage consisted of three other dragons--all that could be spared in the chaos--including a guardian that would take the vermillion wildclaw’s place in a couple years if all went well, and some who had grumbled about not being able to attend the Greenskeeper Gathering’s other games and festivities. Maovesai, however, had
insisted on their attendance.
Rising from her seat at day one’s initial gathering, Beeaznan turned to sweep up her clanmates. ‘How ironic that we’re making a game for hatchlings, when the hatchlings at home are what’s keeping everyone else busy,’ she mused. To her left, the terracotta guardian sported a grumpy look, but she refrained from commenting on it.
---
“All right everybody, today we’re looking for…” The group leader double-checked the notebook in her claws, “‘weird and wild plants!’ Apparently, we’re to bring back specimens that would be able to be easily grown magically and are dragon-safe. I guess not everyone can resist tasting plants, right?...”
Her joke fell so flat that she swore she could hear it land in the soil with a soft
thud.
The three dragons in front of her looked unimpressed.
She sighed; it was a great deal harder to be confident when Maovesai wasn’t around. Nevertheless she persisted, and led the quartet as they traipsed through the dense vegetation of the Shrieking Wilds, guides, leaflets, and notebooks in claw.
The dark-colored nocturne behind her made a choking noise, and she spun around just to see him spit out a piece of a glossy leaf. Unable to hide a giggle at his disgusted expression, the orange-hued wildclaw backed into what felt like a girdle of smooth ropes and had to reorient herself yet again to see what she stumbled upon.
It had looped itself around a tree once, before climbing into the open air. Scars from its former foliage patterned the trunk in a manner that vaguely resembled eye spots; they stared unblinkingly at the dragons in front, unfazed by neither weather nor beast. A firework burst of leaf-topped petioles arrayed itself into the ropey tangle Maovesai’s mentee had bumped into. Each leaf, long as a fae, waved in the damp spring breeze that wafted its way through the midday jungle, and the closest mischievously booped her snout.
She brightened considerably with the spark of inspiration, and deftly cut a stem from its support with her inherited weapon. In another swift motion she caught it before dirt could sully the glossy surface, and swung it over her back while propping a field guide open to ascertain the nature of this find--maybe she should’ve done that first, but a certain well-regarded dragon wasn’t around to temper her more excitable tendencies. Let’s see: widely cultivated, no outer needles or contact poisons, toxic to vertebrates if ingested--wait, what? Wings drooping in disappointment, the warrior could only find solace in the relevance of her earlier jesting.
---
Although the stalk of lacy tree philodendron would make for a truly awful hatchling toy, it did manage to earn the awe and admiration of the party’s fellow naturalists and not-quite-naturalists,-moreso-guests-that-had-been-dragged-along. It was worth a pride of place at home, safely out of the reach of anyone’s hatchlings.
enthusiast
