Hogwarts - Herbology

This is a place to post my notes and practice for quizzes!

Lesson #1:

Herbology = Study of magical and mundane plants
Plants = Have unique characteristics and personality, used for protective, medicinal, and/or educational purposes
Herbologists = Understand each plant, often misunderstood as 'Herbies' or 'Simple gardeners'

Equipment:
Dragon-hide gloves - 81% of preventable accidents (30,000 annually) result from not wearing gloves, 20% resulting in permanent damage
Earmuffs
Close-toed shoes
Apron
Dittany - Healing purposes
Wand
Mask
Dragon dung - Useful because of strong stomach acids (necessary to dragona), scentless (used in flames)
Mooncalf Dung - A less acidic fertilizer (also less beneficial), for sensitive plants
Centaur Tears - Vitamin-rich, revives plants moments from death, controversial methods of collecting tears (centaurs above-human intelligence)

Lesson #2

FAQs = Why is my plant not growing?
Lifespan = 3-5,000 years (no proof for later); trees, cacti, and guapo herbs live longest
Plants = Important to sleeping and sleeping potions

Repotting:
Important milestone
Diet can increase or decrease during changes (flesh-eating double, gaviat roots eat 1/3 of grass)
Soil type, depth of plants, water, and sunlight important factors
Boosts confidence

Dreamless Sleep Potion:
Moonstone - Broken piece of a dragon's egg, causes drowsiness
Starpuffs - Plant, hypnotic qualities, inability to think

Forgetfulness Potion (2/3 ingredients are plants):
Lethe river water
Mistletoe berries - Hallucinations, distractions, memory loss
Valerian sprigs - sedative quality, mind put to sleep
Causes memory loss
Beginner level potion

Asphodel (Royal Staff):
Member of lily family, long slender leaves
Powdered root used in potions (ex. drought of living death)
Associated with death (field in underworld via greek mythology, favorite of Persephone), grown near graves (favorite food of dead)
Global (native to Europe)

Fluxweed:
Means 'constant change or flow'
Mustard family
Healing properties
Picked at full moon for Polyjuice Potion (16 scruples)

Lovage:
Similar to celery (fruit and seeds used in cooking)
Herbal medicines (esp. digestion)
Inflames the brain (used in befuddlement and confusion droughts)

Motherwort (Lion's Tail, Lion's Ear, Throwwort):
Mint family, pink or lilac
Global
Healing properties (treatment of mad-dog bites)

Nettle (Stinging Nettle, Burn Hazel):
Stinging hair on leaves
Fresh in cure-boil potions
Dried in Herbicide potions
Made into Nettle-wine and Nettle-tea, can also be added to soup, rumored to make hair more glossy

Nux Myristica (Nutmeg):
Cooking (flavoring)
Medicinal uses

Peppermint:
Mint family
Sweetener/Flavor
Unorthodox usage in Elixir to Induce Euphoria (prevents side-effects of uncontrolled singing and nose-twitching)

Silverweed (Goosewort):
Rose family, yellow
Respected in medieval Europe
Treats abdominal cramps and open sores

Snakeweed (Bistort):
Treat ulcerative sores and stomach conditions
Makes tea, springtime pudding in northern Europe

Lesson #3

Gillyweed:
Rare, Mediterranean Sea
Slimy, bushels, green-grey
Lots of water, little sunlight
5-7cm, 7.9-8.4pH (mod. alkaline...not acidic)
Grows temporary gills and webbed phalanges (humans)
1 hour effect in fresh, 3 in salt (controversial)
Possibly related to Gillywood (patterns)

Gillywater:
Peel cucumber, cut into long relatively thin strips, longest ties together
Pour liquid and add cucumber, let sit for desired cucumber strength
Add gillyweed right before
Optional: Chilling charm, ice cubes, gillyflower (spice)

Valerian Root (& Sprigs):
Native to Europe & some of Asia
Grows to 5ft, attractive white flowers
7 hours of sunlight, root division and seeding effective plant start
4.5-5pH (very strong acid)
1/8in. under soil, harvest in spring or fall
Acts as a catnip
Root = sedative, anxiolytic, used in calming potions/draughts
Sprig = sleeping potions, cherry/vanilla scent in perfumes
Worn by grooms in Eastern Europe to ward off elf envy

Knotgrass:
Symbolic for tying people together (weddings and Polyjuice potion)
European forests (Forbidden Forest included)
5cm-4m (halts animal growth as cause), 2in.-14ft in greenhouses
6.1-7.3pH (neutral), sunlight speeds up growth, plenty of water
Knotgrass mead, some love potions, UTIs, and fertility issues
Flowers in summer - pink, white, green (after blooming, cut below the flower stem)

Dittany:
Origanum dictamnus, related to dictamnus albus (burning bush, white [false] dittany)
Crete mountainside (Greece)
All ailments, prevents scarring, love potions, wand core
Liquid form (diluted) brown
20-30cm, warmth, sunlight
6.6-7.3pH (neutral), 13°C, covered in light soil, sprinkle light water (soil must be dry to water)

Lesson #4:

Mandrake (Mandragora):
-Common in Europe
-Shapes like parsnip, wrinkles roots, shape of a being
-Grows 5-40cm above ground, looks like tobacco plants
-Grows well where men have been hung
-Causes hallucinations, comas, and dream-like states
-Used in sleeping potions, love potions, unpetrify potions
-Uprooted: death by screams, defense mechanism, after one death screams cease assuming it is dropped and can reroot
-Old Ethics: dogs tied to plant, plants become uprooted, dogs die from screams, plant is harvested
-New Ethics: earmuffs and dragon-hide gloves, uproot and dip in aquatandisu potion (Amaradus Spencer - 1954), plant will thrash and then still, use and harvest (can not be replanted after this)
-Repotting: medium-heavy soil, concentration of water = 3/4 of plant weight
-First-aid: coma from touch = wash contact area and bring to trained healer for tandisu injection

Devil's Snare (Dassin Sanate):
-Scottish highlands and lowlands
-Dark and damp areas (caves and sloughs)
-Swaying plant tendrils and vivid green color
-Boderick Bode - victim in second wizarding war
-Attacks when in grasp, asleep, or turned away
-Kills faster with fighting
-Hates heat and light (Lumos Maxima and Incendio)
-Assumes death when relaxed and drops victim
-Guard objects, assassinates enemies, causes distractions
-No seed, collect with wit and intelligence, light controls growth patterns
-Muggles = no protection, previously 3,000 annual deaths...not allowed within 1000m of muggle places
-First-aid: Strangulation = rennervate ; Anapneo = choking on tongue

Bubotuber:
-Scotland, giant black slug appearence
-Squeezed = gas-scented yellow pus (loses scent over time)
-Diluted pus treats acne, undiluted causes rash and burn on contact (muggles call corrosive)
-Planting: Bulb in dark nutritious soil, little sunlight, resists cold weather, dragon-dung preferred
-Dilute using gillywater or liquid dittany
-First-aid: clean wound with cold water and apply dittany (optional: potion for the pain)

Lesson #5:

Rat Root (Canadian Cree name):
-AKA Acorus Calamus, sea sludge, flag root, myrtle plant, sweet myrtle, sweet rush, gladdon, beewort
-Abortifacient = pregnant women should not take
-Reed-like perennial, grows to 1m, leaves scented bitter
-Powdered rhizomes may be used as ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg (not recommended for long-term use or in high dosages)
-Symbol of love (herbologists = not conductive, uses women as tools)
-Anodyne (relieves pain)
-Anthelmintic
-Aphrosidiac (love potion usages)
-Carminative
-Counter hallucinogens' side effects
-Diuretic
-Laxative
-Sedative
-Otalgic
-Sweet smell = popular floor coverings
-Heals = toothaches, burns, eye disorders...Powder-form = Clearing throat and voice...Used after strokes
-17th century = Nicholas Culpeper claims strengthening of mind and stomach -> digestive potions
-Mild tonic for mild nerves
-Water plant = moist soil = water every 2-3 days
-Sunlight essential!
-Shallow marshes, swamps, riversides, ponds
-Seeds ripe in July-August (use quickly), blooms from May-July

Really starting to form quite a list here. o: Does lesson 5 really only have the 1 though? XD Expected more I guess.. :s Although there is a lot of information about it so..

Bubotuber still sounds funky :3

Lesson #5 includes the midterm test to the information was less intensive. x3

Ah I see, well, that could explain why lesson 5 seems a bit less then. :p