SnakebaneEntered by: darkmoon Date: 2009-06-25 Relevant to: Arolos and DF Summary: A description of an herb that can be used as a sedative for draconics, along with notes for its use. Article: Snakebane is an understory plant of the deep Southern forest, distributed thinly but widely. It grows in thick patches in damp, low-lying, heavily-shaded places. The plant as a whole reaches heights of .5 to 1 meter in height. Roots are fleshy, elongated, whitish-yellow rhizomes, which can be sectioned and used for propagation. A single, branched stem rises from each rhizome; leaves are arranged sparsely along the stems in whorls of 3-5 large, palmately compound leaves, each leaf consisting of five oblong-ovate leaflets. The color of the leaves is a uniform very dark green. During the Spring Transition, the plant is topped with a single, simple umbel of tiny yellow flowers, which become a cluster of bright-red berries by the middle of the Summer Monsoon. Snakebane emanates a musky odor, which becomes unpleasantly sharp when the plant is crushed. All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright© Anne McCaffrey 1967,2005, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern® is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited. |