THE
TAREPTAIL
WEED
("SNOWPUFF",
"MOTHERS-SCORN") |
Tareptail is a common, low-growing bi-ennial flowering weed, bane of the gardeners of New-Salantha and the source of much mischief for children. It can be found wilder near the Sharadon Forest, particularly in places of mild habit and has some use in cooling teas and aids to fluid expulsion. Tareptail Weed is also referred to as Common Whiteball, Snowpuff, Wet-a-Weed and Mothers-Scorn.
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Appearance. When in
its prime, Tareptail is a low growing, two
palms tall, plant, usually
characterised by a ground hugging crown of dark red serrated leaves and two to
three flower stems issuing from its heart. These flower stems are topped by a
single flower each of white hue and of bushy character, these last no longer
than a month. Individual petals are thin, of no more than a
nailsbreadth
in length and spray out like rays of a pale
sun, or spines on a bleached sea urchin. Beneath the ground, Tareptail is
possessed of a single strong taproot of a palmspan in length and tapers from two
nailsbreadths
at its top. This root has a white milky flesh and a brown, rough skin.
After the flower has passed, the petals fall from it and the base of the
flowerhead swells to contain the seeds within. After a week or so, though
shorter in fine weather, the seedpod will split open, exposing an untidy bundle
of seeds, no bigger than a grain of sand, thickly coated in feathery white hairs
so that they might fly further in the wind.
Indeed, pale clouds of snowflake-like seeds are seen to fly a dash or more with
a kind zephyr to aid them.
Territory.
Found in temperate climes, Tareptail prefers warm summers and cool wet winters
and springs, though it can with some complaint, tolerate frost and may be seen
as far north as the southern rim of the majestic
Thaelon Forest
in northern Santharia. The muggy
summers of the Narfost
Plain are too hot for it, however, for it never ventures further
south than the shady north of the Sharadon
Forest. It is seldom
found near the coast, as Tareptail cannot abide the salt nature of such places,
but will be found most often in places of rich soil, high humus and occasional
shade. As such, while often a common sight near the edges of forested land,
Tareptail has taken to places of refuse and other dumping grounds on the limits
of larger settlements.
New-Salantha
in particular is 'blessed' with widespread patches,
known as Tareptail hills, which were formed when the
council of
New-Salantha
ordered that the refuse of the town had to be carried
out past its borders and dumped there. A great amount
of refuse has been disposed like this in the thirty years since the edict, and
when the hills grow too high, another new 'hill' is opened. The older ones are
left to rot, creating an ideal place for the pioneer weed Tareptail, till other
plants claim their right on these newly made fertile grounds.
Usages.
A seldom used plant, sympathetic to the sanguine humor, Tareptail leaves have in
the past been dried and used sparingly as a component in cooling teas to combat
an overabundance of this warming humor. Given that the leaves on their own have
a bitter and astringent taste, this reluctance to use in any quantity is
understandable.
The milky sap of this plant, which all parts, barring flowers, contain, has the
well known property of being a diuretic - so well known, indeed, that it is not
only responsible for its names as 'Wet-a-Weed' and 'Mothers-Scorn', but that it
has featured in many a child's prank - with the
'victim' child enduring the so-called 'Mothers Scorn' effect a mere two hours or
so after the consumption of even small quantities of the sap. While this may be
of great amusement to children, it is found that sometimes this effect can be
beneficial to those who find themselves filled with unpleasant
waters.
Reproduction.
The tiny gossamer coated seeds of the Tareptail are easily carried on the
breeze, far from the mother plant, and in late months great clouds of these
seeds can be seen swirling and catching in spiderwebs and all but clogging
puddles and streams. Those seeds that do find fertile purchase sprout some weeks
later, issuing forth two smooth dark red leaves which in time give way to the
more characteristic serrated leaves. It is only in the second year that
Tareptail will give forth flower spikes and eventually bloom.
Myth/Lore.
There is a tale that tells that Tareptail sprouted from the ground when a mage
of olden times, who had taken the form of a fleet-footed
tarep to escape capture, was pierced in the
tail by an arrow loosed from the bow of his
lover's husband. The arrow sorely rooted the
distraught mage to the ground, and only by a hasty spell was he able to free
himself, but in the process lost his tail. His tail became a flowerhead, white
and fluffy, the arrow became the stalk and where his blood had hit the ground,
sharp looking leaves grew.
Information provided by
Firewyre
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