Post by Severus Snape on Dec 29, 2004 11:29:54 GMT -5
Abyssinian shrivelfig
Second-year Herbology students work with these plants, learning to prune them. When peeled, shrivelfigs are used as an ingredient in Shrinking Solution.
aconite (monkshood, wolfsbane)
Extremely poisonous plant (hence the name wolfsbane). The name monkshood comes from the shape of the flowers.
Ellis Peters' medieval mystery Monk's Hood, the third entry in the Brother Cadfael series, is recommended as both a very good story in its own right and as featuring both the positive and dangerous aspects of this plant. The herbalist Cadfael used the plant as part of an oil used to massage aching joints, but if swallowed or absorbed directly through any break in the skin, the oil could be deadly.
Alihotsy
Eating the leaves causes hysteria
asphodel
A key ingredient of the Draught of Living Death, this plant is traditionally associated with the afterlife and the underworld.
belladonna
Essence of this poisonous plant is part of a student's standard potion-making kit.
bouncing bulbs
Repotted during Herbology class, one wriggled free from Harry's grasp and banged him in the face
bubotuber
A bubotuber looks like a thick, black, giant slug (it even squirms slightly, although it sticks vertically out of the soil) with many large shiny swellings on it that are filled with a yellow-green pus that smells like petrol. As Professor Sprout taught her fourth-year students, the pus reacts oddly with human skin. Undiluted, it will raise horribly painful boils on contact, but properly diluted and processed can be used to cure acne.
cabbage
Hagrid maintains a cabbage patch for Hogwarts, presumably to supply the school kitchens. According to Hagrid, flesh-eating slugs have been known to get into them.
daisy
Chopped, the roots are an ingredient in Shrinking Solution.
Devil's Snare
Devil's Snare is composed of a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that possess some sense of touch. Devil's Snare uses its creepers and tendrils to ensnare anyone who touches it, binding their arms and legs and eventually choking them. The harder a person struggles against Devil's Snare, the more faster and more tightly it binds them; if they relax, it will not kill them as quickly. Devil's Snare prefers a dark, damp environment and shrinks away from fire, so a well-placed flame spell such as Bluebell Flames will drive it away from its victims.
First year students at Hogwarts learn about Devil's Snare in Herbology classes.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione encountered Devil's Snare in the chambers under the castle that hid the Philosopher's Stone:
"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say?-- it likes the dark and the damp..."
"So light a fire!" Harry choked.
"Yes -- of course -- but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"
"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.
"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis-- 'there's no wood,' honestly."
NOTE: In the film, the Devil's Snare had somewhat different properties and was driven back by a bright sunlight spell. There cannot be bright sunlight spells in the Harry Potter universe, however, so this is one of many instances where the film is in error.
A cutting of Devil's Snare, passed off as a potted plant, was used to murder Broderick Bode in St. Mungo's.
The Daily Prophet reported that the Devil's Snare "instantly" throttled Bode when he touched it; given what we know about Devil's Snare, is someone giving perjured testimony about the details of Bode's death? (If there was a witness competent to testify to how Bode died, and if Devil's Snare typically takes as long to kill as it took in SS (longer, since this one was much smaller), then somebody's lying about the details of Bode's death.)
dittany
One of the plants found in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and which historically has indeed been believed to have magic powers.
Fanged Geranium
This plant, which will bite humans, turned up on Harry's Herbology O.W.L.
Flitterbloom
This plant apparently superficially resembles Devil's Snare in appearance, but is non-violent; St. Mungo's healer Miriam Strout mistook the Devil's Snare that killed Broderick Bode for a Flitterbloom
Flutterby Bush
This kind of bush quivers and shakes. The Flutterby bushes needed pruning in herbology class
"flutterby" is sometimes used in English as a play on the word "butterfly"
fluxweed
An ingredient in Polyjuice potion, but has to be picked at the full moon to be effective therein.
gillyweed
Native to the Mediterranean, this water plant looks like a bundle of slimy, greyish-green rat tails. When eaten, gives a person gills to breathe underwater and gives them webbed hands and feet for swimming. The duration of the gillyweed effect is approximately one hour. Snape keeps Gillyweed in his private stores; it is not available to the students.
ginger
The roots are an ingredient in Wit-Sharpening Potion.
hellebore
A poisonous plant occuring in several varieties.
This was the ingredient Harry forgot to add to his Draught of Peace.
holly
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands. Holly is a traditional symbol of resurrection, but in a much more upbeat sense than yew (being associated with Christmas rather than cemeteries helps its image considerably).
Harry's wand is the only wand in the series to date known to be made of holly .
Pliny attributed several interesting magical properties to it, among them that holly grants protection from poison, lightning, and witchcraft. Harry, of course, has had close encounters with poison on several occasions, most notably in the Chamber of Secrets, and we all know about the scar on his forehead.
honking daffodil
Sprout has some, but Lavender Brown, for one, prefers mundane daffodils.
hornbeam
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands.
Viktor Krum's wand is made of hornbeam.
knotgrass
An ingredient in Polyjuice potion .
leaping toadstool
The second year Herbology classes worked with these
lovage
Used in Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts.
mallowsweet
Centaurs burn this, observing the fumes and flames to refine the results of their stargazing.
Mandrake (Mandragora)
The Mandrake root is a powerful restorative. It forms an essential part of most antidotes, including one for Petrification. The Mandrake Restorative Draft returns people who are transfigured or cursed to their original state. Mandrake seedlings are tufty little plants, purplish green in color with what look like tiny babies growing where the roots would be. These creatures grow and develop over the course of several months until they mature and can be harvested and used for potions. The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to humans, so special care must be taken when growing them. Even as a baby, the Mandrake's howls can knock a person out for a couple of hours.
The Dugbog is particularly fond of eating Mandrakes
maple
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands.
Second-year Herbology students work with these plants, learning to prune them. When peeled, shrivelfigs are used as an ingredient in Shrinking Solution.
aconite (monkshood, wolfsbane)
Extremely poisonous plant (hence the name wolfsbane). The name monkshood comes from the shape of the flowers.
Ellis Peters' medieval mystery Monk's Hood, the third entry in the Brother Cadfael series, is recommended as both a very good story in its own right and as featuring both the positive and dangerous aspects of this plant. The herbalist Cadfael used the plant as part of an oil used to massage aching joints, but if swallowed or absorbed directly through any break in the skin, the oil could be deadly.
Alihotsy
Eating the leaves causes hysteria
asphodel
A key ingredient of the Draught of Living Death, this plant is traditionally associated with the afterlife and the underworld.
belladonna
Essence of this poisonous plant is part of a student's standard potion-making kit.
bouncing bulbs
Repotted during Herbology class, one wriggled free from Harry's grasp and banged him in the face
bubotuber
A bubotuber looks like a thick, black, giant slug (it even squirms slightly, although it sticks vertically out of the soil) with many large shiny swellings on it that are filled with a yellow-green pus that smells like petrol. As Professor Sprout taught her fourth-year students, the pus reacts oddly with human skin. Undiluted, it will raise horribly painful boils on contact, but properly diluted and processed can be used to cure acne.
cabbage
Hagrid maintains a cabbage patch for Hogwarts, presumably to supply the school kitchens. According to Hagrid, flesh-eating slugs have been known to get into them.
daisy
Chopped, the roots are an ingredient in Shrinking Solution.
Devil's Snare
Devil's Snare is composed of a mass of soft, springy tendrils and vines that possess some sense of touch. Devil's Snare uses its creepers and tendrils to ensnare anyone who touches it, binding their arms and legs and eventually choking them. The harder a person struggles against Devil's Snare, the more faster and more tightly it binds them; if they relax, it will not kill them as quickly. Devil's Snare prefers a dark, damp environment and shrinks away from fire, so a well-placed flame spell such as Bluebell Flames will drive it away from its victims.
First year students at Hogwarts learn about Devil's Snare in Herbology classes.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione encountered Devil's Snare in the chambers under the castle that hid the Philosopher's Stone:
"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say?-- it likes the dark and the damp..."
"So light a fire!" Harry choked.
"Yes -- of course -- but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.
"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"
"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.
"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.
"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis-- 'there's no wood,' honestly."
NOTE: In the film, the Devil's Snare had somewhat different properties and was driven back by a bright sunlight spell. There cannot be bright sunlight spells in the Harry Potter universe, however, so this is one of many instances where the film is in error.
A cutting of Devil's Snare, passed off as a potted plant, was used to murder Broderick Bode in St. Mungo's.
The Daily Prophet reported that the Devil's Snare "instantly" throttled Bode when he touched it; given what we know about Devil's Snare, is someone giving perjured testimony about the details of Bode's death? (If there was a witness competent to testify to how Bode died, and if Devil's Snare typically takes as long to kill as it took in SS (longer, since this one was much smaller), then somebody's lying about the details of Bode's death.)
dittany
One of the plants found in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and which historically has indeed been believed to have magic powers.
Fanged Geranium
This plant, which will bite humans, turned up on Harry's Herbology O.W.L.
Flitterbloom
This plant apparently superficially resembles Devil's Snare in appearance, but is non-violent; St. Mungo's healer Miriam Strout mistook the Devil's Snare that killed Broderick Bode for a Flitterbloom
Flutterby Bush
This kind of bush quivers and shakes. The Flutterby bushes needed pruning in herbology class
"flutterby" is sometimes used in English as a play on the word "butterfly"
fluxweed
An ingredient in Polyjuice potion, but has to be picked at the full moon to be effective therein.
gillyweed
Native to the Mediterranean, this water plant looks like a bundle of slimy, greyish-green rat tails. When eaten, gives a person gills to breathe underwater and gives them webbed hands and feet for swimming. The duration of the gillyweed effect is approximately one hour. Snape keeps Gillyweed in his private stores; it is not available to the students.
ginger
The roots are an ingredient in Wit-Sharpening Potion.
hellebore
A poisonous plant occuring in several varieties.
This was the ingredient Harry forgot to add to his Draught of Peace.
holly
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands. Holly is a traditional symbol of resurrection, but in a much more upbeat sense than yew (being associated with Christmas rather than cemeteries helps its image considerably).
Harry's wand is the only wand in the series to date known to be made of holly .
Pliny attributed several interesting magical properties to it, among them that holly grants protection from poison, lightning, and witchcraft. Harry, of course, has had close encounters with poison on several occasions, most notably in the Chamber of Secrets, and we all know about the scar on his forehead.
honking daffodil
Sprout has some, but Lavender Brown, for one, prefers mundane daffodils.
hornbeam
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands.
Viktor Krum's wand is made of hornbeam.
knotgrass
An ingredient in Polyjuice potion .
leaping toadstool
The second year Herbology classes worked with these
lovage
Used in Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts.
mallowsweet
Centaurs burn this, observing the fumes and flames to refine the results of their stargazing.
Mandrake (Mandragora)
The Mandrake root is a powerful restorative. It forms an essential part of most antidotes, including one for Petrification. The Mandrake Restorative Draft returns people who are transfigured or cursed to their original state. Mandrake seedlings are tufty little plants, purplish green in color with what look like tiny babies growing where the roots would be. These creatures grow and develop over the course of several months until they mature and can be harvested and used for potions. The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to humans, so special care must be taken when growing them. Even as a baby, the Mandrake's howls can knock a person out for a couple of hours.
The Dugbog is particularly fond of eating Mandrakes
maple
A species of tree that qualifies as a "wand tree", in that its wood can be used in the making of magic wands.
