Aurore

Natural History - A Guide to Historican Flora and Fauna

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7 June 2021 - Added @The Stad's giant hare and @Grover's Nocturnus plants!
Feel free to add your ideas or suggestions. And, of course, feel free to use those plants in your builds! 

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Natural History of Historica
A collaborative herbal book
 


Volume I - Herbs

Marsh-mallow (Althaea Officinalis)
Marsh-mallow is native to the humid western coasts of Avalonia.
Mostly known for the candies that are made from its root, it also has interesting medicinal properties for the treatment of cough and throat ulcers. 
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Parts : leaves, stem, flower


Angelica (Angelica Archangelica)
Angelica is a common sight in northern Historica. Since its appearance is quite similar to poisonous species, however, it is rarely foraged in the wild. 
Cultivated, it is widely used in the traditional Mitgardian cuisine - especially candied as a decoration for cakes. Its medicinal uses include, but are not limited to, the treatment of all kind of digestive troubles. 
It is also said to be an efficient magical protection against curses.
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Parts : leaves, stem, umbels

NEW Deadly Lavender (Atropa Angustifolia) - by @Grover
This rare flower is found naturally only in humid, swampy areas of Nocturnus, and when found is usually co-located with spreading starmist. The plant is noted by its black stem and three leaves. The roots, stem, and leaves are all highly toxic if ingested, causing hallucinations and delirium, and are sometimes dried and crushed to use in various poisons. In the spring, lavender flowers can sometimes be seen on this plant. Curiously, the flower is not toxic and is the key component in several medicines, poultices, and spells, so is harvested by herbalists and spellcasters.
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Hypericum (Hypericum Perforatum)
Hypericum is generally considered as a noxious weed that challenges gardeners from all over Historica with its invasive growth and resilience to weeding. 
However, its is welcome in most herbal gardens since its oily extract is very useful to heal wounds and burns. 
Opinions seem to differ as to its magical properties. Many people believe Hypericum to protect from evil spirits, while gardeners seem to find the plant more annoying than any spirit it could protect from.
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Parts : leaves, stem, flower


Mandrake (Mandragora Officinarum)
An aura of mystery and magic surrounds the Mandrake. Native to Varlyrio, Kaliphlin and southern Avalonia, it's not easy to cultivate in Mitgardia.
The result is worth the effort though, as this plant can be used to prepare one the most efficient sedatives known to the Guilds. 
It's also hallucinogenic and hypnotic, and is thus highly sought after by charlatans and fake shamans.
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Parts : leaves, stem, flower


White nettle (Lamium Album)
White nettle is a very common plant that can be found in grasslands and forests all over Avalonia and Mitgardia. All parts of the plant are edible (and have a surprising mushroom flavour), and the leaves can also help with melancholy.
A so-called Aureum variant, which features bright lime leaves, can be found in the southwestern foothills of the Mitgardian Heavenly Mountains. A rumor says its unusual coloring indicates the presence of gold underground. The inhabitants of the little village of Horgaard know it's simply an horticultural experiment, escaped from the garden of a local herbalist…
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Avalonian Crown Lily (Lilium Avaloniflora) - by @Grover
The Avalonian Crown Lily is native to the coastal areas of Avalonia, particularly in the Mystic Isles. Its occurrence is uncommon in most areas, but it is cultivated and traded around Historica, so is a common ornamental potted plant. 
It gets its name from the large white bowl shaped flowers ending in spikes like a crown and is noted for the pollen covered pistils, usually golden yellow, that pr
otrude from the flowers. 
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Parts : stem, calyx, corolla, pistil

 


Volume II - Bushes
NEW Spreading Starmist (Prosopis Azure) - by @Grover
Commonly found across Nocturnus, Spreading Starmist is a low-growing bush with bright blue leaves and a black stem. It grows in almost any soil and is considered a nuisance in many area It also leaves black stems everywhere when it is done growing, causing headaches for cleanup. The plant is non-toxic, and does not contain enough nutrients to feed livestock, so is not cultivated intentionally. The wood is sometimes used for cookfires where it imparts a smoky flavor to meats.

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Volume III - Trees

NEW Purple Locust Tree (aka Red Pea Tree) (Robinia Purpura) - by @Grover
This medium sized deciduous hardwood grows across lower elevations of Nocturnus and slightly into the other guilds in the area around Cedrica. It has occasionally been planted in other areas where it can become invasive. It is considered a nuisance tree due to the red pea-pod fruits it bears in the spring, which drop everywhere, requiring cleanup for landscaping. The wood is hard, but is not particularly useful for building due to the small, twisting, and generally spindly nature of the tree trunk, which limits the size of boards produced from it.

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Volume IV - Animals

Common Field Wombat (Wombatus Agerus) - by @kahir88
A medium-sized rodent eats plants and smaller insects.
Avalonian farmers have long struggled to drive them away from their lands. Males are particularly aggressive when their territory needs to be protected against other males. Many Avalonians take advantage of this and make to fight each other for amusement.
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Common Seagull (Larus Historicus) - by @Grover
The common seagull is native to all the coasts of Historica and is a common sight there.
These gulls flock in large number, particularly around sources of food, and are somewhat of a nuisance in coastal urban areas, making a mess wherever they are found. These birds are noted for their white color with grey and black wing markings.
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Omurtag Zwergpinscher
The Omurtag Zwergpinscher, colloquially known as the Dwarven Devil Dog among Human communities, is a breed of domestic dog developed by the Mitgardian Dwarves of the Heavenly Mountains. 
Renowned for their vigilance and tenaciousness, Omurtag Zwergpinschers make excellent guard dogs and ratters. 
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NEW Avalonian Giant Hare - by @The Stad
Brought to Gammeltårn by refugees from Avalonia during the Elemental Crisis, the Avalonian Giant Hares were kept for their flavorful meat and supple pelts. Several years ago, four of the five breeding pairs on the island had been set loose during a violent storm, and now herds of the docile, dog-sized rodents could be found menacing crops around the island. 
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Edited by Aurore

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Jeez, it's been a year?  How time flies!

Is your intent for this to be a total Mitgardian compendium of plant life, including flora created by others?

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@W Navarre Thank you very much! I've had a fun time finding parts that would match those plants!

@socalbricks Thank you so much!

@Zilmrud Thank you very much! I already have a few ideas to add (just need to take the photos)! :laugh:

 

7 hours ago, mrcp6d said:

Is your intent for this to be a total Mitgardian compendium of plant life, including flora created by others?

 Some kind of encyclopedia, definitely! And if others have ideas they would like to share (including out of Mitgardia, actually), they would be welcome! it could grow rather huge, though, and may require re-organisation to keep it readable...I'll see when (if) it happens. :sweet:

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Very nice work, love the attention to detail and the information about the plants. The stem of the mandrake is that from the new minion sets?

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This is what I'm talking about. Lovely plants! I think this is a great idea, to show the flora and fauna of Historica. If there will be any challenge about that, I'm sure you would win it! Keep up, can't wait, to see the animals part. 

Maybe later I will provide a guide, how to cook them. :D Of course, I will share the cut with you! ;)

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I did not know that tiny little stalk existed!  Looks great.  In fact all these plants are lovely! 

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You have such great ideas!  I love how you are building a world with every detail thought out.  Nice descriptions and I like how you tell how and what they are used for.  Excellent job can't wait to see the rest of your ideas.  

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@kahir88 Oh yes, a Great Historican Cooking Book! This would be so cool!

@Kai NRG Thank you! I stumbled about that little stem in the inventory of one of my usual BL sellers...Now I need plenty of them! :moar:

@zoth33 Thank you so much!

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Main topic edited! Added @Grover's Avalonian Crown Lily and seagull, and the white nettle and Omurtag Zwergpinscher featured in my latest GoH MOC.

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