Viper tree

ripvanwormer's picture

Said to be the bastard young of Nidhogg, the serpent at the root of Yggdrasil, viper trees are white, scaly trees with living snakes' heads as their branches. From a distance they appear as white beeches or similar trees, but viewed up close they have clearly reptilian skin and features. Though they can writhe and reach as snakes do, usually viper trees simply sway in the breeze as other trees but they also move even in the absence of any breeze.

Viper trees speak the language of Tanar'ri and no other. Groves of viper trees hiss and whisper to each other unnervingly during the night, speaking of their kills, their hungers, and their treasures. They are common in Azzagrat, the 45th to 47th layers of the Abyss; elsewhere in the Abyss they are used as guards in gardens, around moats, and at gates.

Sources: 
Planes of Chaos
For Duty & Deity
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