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Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant Families for Torilian and Oerdian Flora

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Thu, 2011-05-26 22:15
#1
Hyena of Ice
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Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant Families for Torilian and Oerdian Flora

As indicated in the topic title, this topic touches on a very technical subject, and thus is of little value to anyone who is not a botanist or horticulturalist. (I have no intention of figuring out plant families for planar flora-- we're talking about vegetation with an entirely different evolutionary history and ecology)

TORILIAN
Barausk: Books say it resembles beech, and that the wood eventually becomes tough as iron. I will have to do some research on all the plants known as ironwood and see if a suitable one stands out.

Beetle Palm: Bit of a no brainer that it's in Arecaceae (the palm family).

Blueleaf: The books state that this tree closely resembles a maple, so presumably it belongs to that genus or a similar one, placing it in Sapindaceae (soapwort) family.

Chime Oak: The description indicates that this plant belongs to the genus Quercus (oak), placing it in Fagaceae (the beech family)

Felsul: Far too little information is given to make any determination on what family it belongs to, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say Fabaceae (the legume family)

Flame Heather: Clearly this belongs in the Ericaceae (heath) family. Because Calluna (true heather) doesn't actually grow in the arctic, this is most likely a species of Cassiope or Phyllodoce.

Laspar: I believe this belongs to Cupressaceae (the cypress/cedar family)

Mule Plant: The description of the flowers as "daisy-like" is a dead giveaway that it's a composite (Asteraceae).

Roseneedle Pine: Unfortunately, its description (flowers emerging from leaftips) does not fit any real life plant family that I know of. However, it comes closest to Lamiaceae (nettle/mint family), as it bears a close resemblance to rosemary, which can become a woody shrub about 3 and a half to four feet high in favorable conditions. Because it is a flowering plant, it cannot possibly be a conifer.

Sealberry: There are only three berry-producing plant families capable of growing in the arctic-- Ericaceae, Rosaceae, and Caprifoliaceae. Only a single genus of Rosaceae is capable of living in the arctic-- Rubus[/i ] (the bramble, whose fruits do not match the description of sealberry), while only a single species in Caprifoliaceae-- [i]Lonicera caerulea (the honeyberry).
However, many species of berry producing plants in Ericaceae (heath family) live in or near the arctic, including crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), cranberry (Oxycoccus oxycoccus), and blueberries/huckleberries. Thus, it is safe to assume that sealberry is in the family Ericaceae.

Silverbark: Its habitat and description closely resemble Betulaceae (the birch family), and in fact there are some species-- or at least some cultivars-- which only reach about 20 feet in height *though I don't know of any that come anywhere close to a maximum trunk width of 4 inches*

Sleepweed: Since it's described as having a milkweed-like pod, it's likely in Apocynaceae (the dogbane family)

Suthwood: This bizarre tree doesn't sound like anything from real life (zigzag pattern sound rather Darwintastic if you ask me), but its preference for subtropical habitats combined with its habit of intertwining with other specimens of its species to create a hedge reminds me of strangler figs-- some of which do indeed create impenetrable hedges (and the hedges can even consist of different species of strangler fig!)

Vundwood: Though the growth habit does not match, the other qualities of this tree closely match Lauraceae (laurel family), particularly the cinnamon scent and preference for Mediterranean climate.

Weirwood: This also appears to be a species of oak (Quercus), placing it in Fagaceae.

OERDIAN FLORA
Deklo: The description sounds very close to Lombardy Poplar, so it's probably in Betulaceae (birch family), if not a species of Populus itself.

Kara: Though hardly the only family with "irritating resin", Anacardiaceae (the cashew/sumac family) certainly fits. (The cashew family also includes the familiar fruit known as mango)

Roanwood: Obviously this belongs somewhere in Cupressaceae (cypress/cedar family), probably either subfamilia Sequoioideae since the books specifically refer to it as being like a "sequoia" rather than "like a redwood".

Sablewood: The books only state that this is a conifer with black wood when oiled, meaning it's a Pinopsid.

Uskwood: Says the leaves look like a maple, which in and of itself does not narrow the possibilities down very much. However, the mention of luscious fruit combined with the leaf description makes it very likely a member of Sapindaceae (soapwort family), even though none of the real-life species produce fruit anywhere near the size of grapefruits.

Yarpick: Many trees in Malvaceae (mallow family), particularly tribus Bombacoideae, produce thorns on their trunk, including Ceiba (Kapok). Most of them produce dry capsular seed pods, but there are members within the tribe which produce large fruits (though Yarpick is described as having a small fruit)

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Fri, 2011-05-27 04:31
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Munin
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Re: Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant ...

I love the geekiness that went into this, I'll definitely use it to stump my players, if you'll pardon the pun.

Fri, 2011-05-27 16:41
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Hyena of Ice
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Re: Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant ...

Actually, the true usefulness in this topic is in assigning other traits to the plants, including better decriptions of the flowers and such *such as with felsul* Though I mostly did it merely for fun.

Fri, 2011-06-03 19:00
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Hyena of Ice
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Re: Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant ...

Again I want to note that, while I did this entirely for fun, there is some practical use behind this topic IF you are familiar with plant families (and believe me, even a layperson can recognize the features of many families if you point them out to them-- particularly the daisy, carrot, and rose family), the classifications in the initial post can aid you in giving further descriptions of the plants. For instance:

--What does Felsul Flower Oil smell like?
--What do Felsul flowers look like?
--Tell me more about what (plant X) looks like
--What do its seeds look like?

Things like that.

Another note about flowers in general:
The characteristics are going to vary depending on who pollinates it, and it may be pollinated by more than one animal. For instance, many New World flowers are modified to be pollinated by both bees and birds. Many members of the daisy, violet, and rose families can be pollinated by bee, beetle, and fly.
Long, tubular flowers tend to be pollinated either by lepidoptera (butterfly/moth) or hummingbird, or both.
There are some major differences between plants meant to be pollinated specifically by one kind of animal:
Bees: Flowers meant to be pollinated more exclusively by bees tend to be violet-blue, such as bittersweet, hebe, thyme *though thyme is more like a pink*, and rosemary.
Bird: Bird-pollinated flowers are usually scentless (the types of birds responsible for pollination lack a sense of smell) and the colors range from yellow to blood red, with blood red being the most common (some flowers may possess all three colors, as is common among sunbird-pollinated flowers in South Africa, such as Kniphofia/red hot poker and Lachenalia.) They are always long and tubular. Among honeysuckle species, ones meant to be bird-pollinated have bulb-like flower bases, allowing them to hold large quantities of nectar. Flowers of butterfly and moth-pollinated honeysuckles taper off towards the base.
Butterflies: Butterfly flowers tend to be tubular or at least somewhat tubular, though butterflies can also feed from daisies and purslanes quite readily. Flowers meant to be pollinated exclusively by butterfly (and also by some beetles, like milkweed) tend to be red, orange, and/or pink.
Mosquito: Flowers meant to be pollinated by mosquito are very tiny. Spearmint can be pollinated by both bee and mosquito.
Moths: It's really easy to tell if a flower is meant to be pollinated by moths. Moth pollinated flowers are usually white (but sometimes lemon yellow or cream-- the reason being obvious-- at night, the whites and pale pastels are the colors that stand out, just as reds and blues do during the day.) and almost always possess a sweet smell. Many bloom only at night and close before noon. The most famous example of a moth-pollinated flower is the night-blooming cereus, also known as "queen of the night". Other examples include aztec nicotiana, mock-orange, gardenia, jasmine, black locust, giant vetch, and many members of the witch-hazel family (sorry, I don't remember their names off-hand)

You'll note that I have not included plant species created by magic-- this is because such things often cannot be categorized into a plant family.

Sat, 2011-10-01 15:08
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Hyena of Ice
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Re: Curiosity Topic for Botanists: Determining Plant ...

Also of curiosity, I looked up the shells in Volo's Guide to All Things Magical. Here is what I found (you can Wiki or Google image most scientific names)

Update: I made a mistake on the helmets which I have since corrected. Also, while I initially assumed that green and red abalone referred to specific species (mainly Haliotis fulgens and rufescens respectively), I now realize they likely refer to many different species of similar appearance. However, the prices given make no sense-- red abalones tend to be bigger than green ones (Haliotis gigantea and Haliotis rufescens are well-known large species), and in addition, many species possess both red and green color morphs (including tuberculata/the green ormer, asinina/ass ear abalone, and sorensini/white abalone.) Instead of the guide given in "Volo's Guide to All Things Magical", the pricing for abalone should be thus:
10gp abalones are those with only or mostly white nacre. 25gp abalones are specimens with naturally colored or rainbow nacre-- some species (mainly Haliotis iris and Haliotis corrugata) usually possess this, but with the vast majority, you'll only see this in a few specimens. Ass Ear abalone (A Kara-Tur species) is only worth 5 gp, due to its diminutive size, and it's worthless in lapidary work because it's paper-thin.

Pearl Cowrie: Pustularia margarita (gee, a genus name right after the Oinoloth's heart...)
Opal Cowrie: I can find no species with such a common name. I'm guessing it's a fictional species.
Tiger Cowrie: Cypraea tigris
Black-and-White cowrie: I am unable to find any scientific info on it online-- only a handfull of auction/personals sites.
Purple Star Cowrie: This is clearly a fictional species.
Black Helmet: Cassis madagascariensis
Flame Helmet: Cassis flammea
Horned Helmet: Cassis cornuta
Red Helmet: Cassis rufa
Sardonyx helmet: I don't know. This probably is the Torilian name for a real life species, but without a description I am unsure which one.
Trochus: This includes far more than just 1 species.
Turbo: This includes far more than just 1 species, including Turbo marmoratus

Mon, 2011-07-04 17:11
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Hyena of Ice
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Planar Flora

This is partly a prewrite/brainstorm for me. It includes the types of flavors indigenous herbs tend to possess, as well as some prewrite on animal-dispersed seeds and animal pollination.

HERB AND SPICE FLAVORS
--Air: sweet, aromatric (RW examples: coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, aniseed, rose water, vanilla, clove, pandan, saffron, angelica, star anise)
--Earth: nutty/earthy, slightly bitter. (RW examples: kalonji/nigella seed, poppyseed, black sesame seed, vegetable ash)
--Fire: spicy/pungent/hot (RW examples: black pepper, chili pepper, grains of paradise, garlic, wasabi, black mustardseed, horseradish, raw ginger)
--Water: sweet (RW examples: licorice, angelica, aniseed, fennel, stevia, honey, raisins, dates, star anise)
--Ice: minty, mentholated (RW examples: eucalyptus, peppermint) Spices can also be mildly numbing (like szechuan pepper)
--Magma: metallic (e.g. blood, rust). Also, resinous/pungent (RW examples: rosemary, oregano, pine leaf, fenugreek leaf, juniper berry, sage, tarragon, thyme)
--Ooze: Sour/acidic (RW examples: wild crabapple, lemon, lime, wood sorrel *Oxalis spp.*, kokam, anardana, tamarind, sumac, rueberry)
bitter (RW examples: zedoary, cubeb pepper, grapefruit, citrus rind, camphor, rue)
--Smoke: smoked items, black cardamom (black cardamom is smoked)
--Lightning: numbing (RW examples: vietnamese coriander, long pepper, sczechuan pepper)
--Mineral: metallic (e.g. blood, rust)
--Radiance: spices of radiance tend to possess multiple flavors. (RW examples: cinnamon *aromatic + sweet*, cubeb pepper *hot + bitter*, galangal *spicy + aromatic-- 2 types of spiciness-- galangal tastes like a cross between black pepper and ginger*). Generally, the spices indigenous to Radiance possess at least three different flavors, which might not be tasted at the same time.
--Steam: bitter (RW examples: zedoary, cubeb pepper, grapefruit, citrus rind, camphor, rue)

Haven't decided on the other ones yet.

POLLINATION
--Air: Same as the prime material
--Fire: The floral parts glow unusual colors such as blue, violet, mauve, green, or white.
--Ice: Floral parts glow electric blue, periwinkle, or teal
--Water: There are few animal-pollinated flowers on this plane, and those that do exist must use a very different type of pollination than normal. Flowers tend to come in various sizes, but gravitate towards fist or backpack-sized. Instead of granules, the pollen consists of tiny self-adhering gelatinous globules. Instead of invertebrates, bats, and birds, the flowers on Water are usually pollinated by humanoids, eels, testudines, and cephalopods. The flowers tend to be bell or tube-shaped, and under the gel-encrusted stamens can be found a sweet, succulent fruit or similar delicacy with certain animal properties *specifically, the fruit is rich in buttery fish oil like from a tuna's belly*. The pollinator wishing to retrieve the fruit must reach their arm or tentacle deep into the flower. Most flowers are designed with a narrow entrance so that the humanoid or cephalopod cannot peek inside to see where the reward is (it forces them to feel around blindly). Inevitably, the pollinator's arm or tentacle becomes covered in gelatinous pollen, which end up scraping off against the high-set but sturdy, almost stiff pistil.
The goo takes some time to scrape off, but most humans and cephalopods consider it well worth the trouble. Most sentient humanoids and cephalopods have long since developed special tools to retrieve the fruit, though these tools still perform the task of pollination.

FRUIT
--Air: Same as on the Prime.
--Fire: Fruits and berries glow unusual colors-- usually white, blue, mauve, or green.
--Ice: Fruits and berries glow electric blue, teal, or snow-white.
--Water: Fruits and berries are unusual, but do occur. They reflect metallic colors like fish scales when light shines upon them. Carnivorous fish such as barracuda learn to ignore them.

One must bear in mind that, just like Fire Fruit, the fruits and spices of the Inner Planes are toxic to most Prime mortals, and doubly toxic to creatures of the opposing subtype or plane-- even elementals, who are normally immune to poison. (this is because the toxins in these plant parts are not metabolic or cellular poisons like conventional and IRL poisons are-- they possess an elemental essence that creatures of the opposite element find toxic-- eventually I shall write out the rules for elemental poisons in the Brainstorm topic.)

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