Alinfa Lily

Bard Judith

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Alinfa Lily

« on: 29 July 2003, 06:07:00 »

Name

Alinfa Lily

Categorization

Water Plant, Flowering

Basic Overview of the Plant

The Alinfa is a striking lily in shades of pink and purple which grows in shallow water throughout shaded, warm areas of Southern Sarvonia.

Description

These water lilies grow on knee-high (to an elf) slim hollow stems. Two or three long lance-shaped leaves spring from the base of the stem, just below water level. The stalks and foliage range from a pale grayish-green to a dark olive shade. In spring the stems emerge from the water with the bulbous top protected by a grey sheath or husk. As the bud forms, the husk slowly splits and peels back to reveal the vivid young flower.

The buds begin as a rich blue color with a lot of purple in it, almost a **** hue. The grey tatters of protective sheath hang below each bud, like an old shawl on a young maiden. As the bloom opens outwards and the petals unfurl, they lighten to purple and maroon, then to an intense rose, and finally become a gentle pink. The petals, strangely, are not always of a consistent number, but are usually odd-numbered – five, seven, or nine petals are the most common. Six and eight-petalled Alinfa are considered an omen of misfortune ( as may be seen in the spectacular portrait of the Aellenrhim Rann *** -- to the very left of the picture, echoing its sorrowful theme, are a cluster of Alinfa with even-numbered petals) Twelve-petalled Alinfa are even rarer, and when found are believed to be an indication of the Twelve Gods’ favor. In fact, a group of 12-petal Alinfa Lily bulbs were offered to Baveras’s Temple in Santhala about forty years ago, and when transplanted carefully into the aquatic gardens there flourished and spread – they are still jealously tended by the resident Baveras’Aids, and believed to be the only such successfully cultivated bulbset in Sarvonia!

Territory

The plants prefer shallow, relatively undisturbed or placid water in warmer climates and cannot survive direct sun. As such they are found mostly in the overgrown oxbows and marshes of older rivers, or in quiet pools under forest shade. They seem to thrive in Elven forests such as the Calmarios, the Paelelon, the Quallion, the Zeiphyrian and the Sharadon, and are particularly lovely in the groves of the Boldar. They can also be found around the Auturian Woods along the tributaries of the Mashdai River, as well as in the Thaehelvil Estuary. They seem to be limited to Southern Santharia, or at the least they have not been reported elsewhere to this point.

Usages

The plant has no usages known to humans, nor do our dwarven and Brownie researchers have anything to add to its two qualities of beauty and gracefulness.

It is possible that elves have some as-yet-unknown medicinal or herbal use for the plant, but they seem reluctant to speak about the Alinfa for some reason. We know from elven art and poetry, however, that it has been used as garlands for the ***hrim Ranns as part of their ascension ceremonies.

(Wren dear! Could you choose me an elf tribe here that would be appropriate? And is ‘ascension’ right – I didn’t want to say ‘coronation…)

It seems, like many water plants, to help filter and purify the water which flows past it, although without the striking effect of the Yealm Reed. In nature, the corms or bulbs of the plant serve as winter food for waterrats, ducks, turtles, and other aquatic species during the winter. The dried leaves remain on the stalk over the winter and are often collected as nest or den lining material by fliers and burrowers.

Reproduction

The plant depends on its globular bulbs, buried deep in the mud, to sustain and reproduce itself. Each bulb is composed of ten to twenty segments, or ‘cloves’, faintly citrus-scented, which when divided will grow into its own plant. Beasts hunting for food in the winter will often break apart the bulbs, and while some serve as food, several usually escape and bury themselves in the mud to reproduce again as separate plants next spring.

Myth/Lore/Origins

The Alinfa Lily has been associated with elves for centuries, doubtless due to its slender grace and its habitat. It is said to be a favorite of **hrim Ranns, and it occurs in elven poetry and literature, as well as in decorative motifs such as carving, and embroidery.

Here, a rough translation from the Styrash of a song which mentions the Alinfa:

In plashing pools of dappled rain
The frog lifts up his woeful strain,
Below the blooms of Alinfa.

Sing, frogling, sing your song of grief!
On withered stem and blighted leaf
The serpent’s shadow came and fell.

Soft river, bear my words away,
I would I could not hear, nor say
The Lily’s tale for elven ears.

Edited by: Artimidor Federkiel at: 2/21/04 15:00


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"Give me a land of boughs in leaf / a land of trees that stand; / where trees are fallen there is grief; / I love no leafless land." --A.E. Housman

Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #1 on: 31 July 2003, 07:51:00 »

Cool Judy, what you have so far! Jeff will be delighted that he gets a plant dedicated to hime

I'll contact him soon, maybe he can enlarge the plant on the Aía'merán pic and add a few details here and there...

And once again a really wonderful poem you've attached here, Judy

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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #2 on: 01 August 2003, 23:36:00 »

Short note: Jeff told me he'll be happy to zoom into the pic he drew and help making the plant a bit more detailed for the entry

Though he's currently helping a friend at house building, he's also still working on finishing his Eritinalinfalah pic and on setting up his own website. Expect a pic or two to be finished sometime in August, though

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Bard Judith

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #3 on: 23 October 2003, 08:40:00 »

I'll have to drag Wren in here to have a look, coz I don't want to get anything elfy wrong!

I also want to expand a bit more and add some detail, but basically I see it as a decorative lily, not a herb or food plant so it doesn't require as much information.

Anyhow, just a note to myself to remind me and to boot it up to the top again... :number1


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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #4 on: 24 October 2003, 08:46:00 »

Ok, I've also sent a short reminder to Jeff to not forget about the picture. We'll see when he can manage to finish it

Hope Wren drops in in the meantime as well

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eratinalinfalah

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #5 on: 26 October 2003, 21:33:00 »

that is a wondefully developed description. i will get on top of this , and must apologize for having delayed so far. lots of life to slough through sometimes

its a nice feeling to have someone expand on one of my pics. :hug


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Wren

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #6 on: 20 February 2004, 06:40:00 »

I believe the portrait your refering to is the one on the Aiá'merán entry?

As for garlands. If the Aellenrhim still had a 'Rann, which they don't, it would be perfect for them...

Has a think.....

Hmmm a tribe that would crown their queen in a flower associated with sadness.....hmm.... Your welcome to use the Ylfferhim? I'm rewriting the entry at the moment, so it could be added?


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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #7 on: 22 February 2004, 03:04:00 »

Okeydokey, I've added the Aiá'merán reference and useed the Ylfferhim in the final version... - Was about time to get this one happy, it lasted over half a year! :lol

One final thing, though, In the text you find the following line:

"The buds begin as a rich blue color with a lot of purple in it, almost a **** hue."

Does this omission have a special meaning, Judy? Maybe you wanted to use the Santharian name of a color? Well, maybe you can add this final missing word as well

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #8 on: 22 February 2004, 18:18:00 »

Yup - the missing word was 'waterberry'... sorry about not getting to this in time for the update!

Looks like you've done the work for me, oh perfectionist sage, so accept my apologies and thanks for finishing it off! :kiss

Also thanks for the quick turnaround help, Wren! :thumbup


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"Give me a land of boughs in leaf / a land of trees that stand; / where trees are fallen there is grief; / I love no leafless land." --A.E. Housman

Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels

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Re: Alinfa Lily - first draft for Jeff!

« Reply #9 on: 23 February 2004, 12:32:00 »

Thanks for the present of these rare plants for a Baveran temple!

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"For me there is only the traveling on paths that have heart, on any path that may have heart. There I travel, and the only worthwhile challenge is to traverse its full length. And there I travel looking, breathlessly. ~Don Juan"
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Alinfa Lily