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bakerstreet2014-11-19 09:52 am
knockyoursocksoff) wrote in bakerstreet2014-11-19 09:52 am
The Garden of Unusual Plants
The Garden of Unusual Plants
It's a lovely garden, with hedge mazes and vibrant flower beds, neatly shaped trees and colorful flowering trellises, dotted with fountains and statues. The plants that make up this garden, however, have been specifically selected for their rather unique properties, imported from locations spanning worlds and dimensions simply for the enjoyment of visitors.
Please, enjoy your visit to the gardens. But do be careful how close you get to the plants.
An Incomplete List of Specimens in the Gardens
1: Weeping Silverleaf This tree is one of the loveliest in the garden, with a dark brown bark, silvery-green leaves, and a golden fruit that gives off a scent tempting enough to draw visitors in from yards away. When consumed, however, the fruit induces a deep, coma-like sleep that can last for several days, and the bark emits a sap containing digestive enzymes. The result is often that an unsuspecting person will eat the fruit, fall asleep at the base of the tree, and then become tree fertilizer the next time it rains and washes the secretions over their prone body.
2: Slowthorn This thornbush is used as a decorative border in places at the edge of the garden. It's an effective deterrent against trespassers, as a jab of one of its thorns will result in paralysis, the degree of which depends on the dose given.
3: Devil's Breath This plant is often found wrapped around the trunks of young trees, with its trumpet-shaped flowers drooping down from between the branches. The flowers produce a pollen which, if inhaled, can induce a zombie-like state in a person. They will remain completely conscious, but unaware of what they are doing, and may or may not later remember what they did while under the influence of the toxin.
4: Rainbowcap Mushrooms Several of the shady areas are dotted with this colorful mushroom, but beware - it produces a hallucinogenic chemical strong enough to be absorbed through a mere touch against bare skin. Eating one is most definitely not advisable.
5: Wandering Vine This plant grows quite green and thick over walls and fences, hiding bricks and boards alike from view. Should someone brush against it, however, it will react by coiling about them. Sometimes it can be quite deadly, its vines constricting snake-like about its prey. Other times, however, it seems content to hold them immobile. Perhaps it simply likes the company.
6: Scarlet Bellflower These large, vividly red flowers grow on long stalks at the edge of ponds and slow waterways. Be cautious of them, however, for breathing in their perfume too long can induce increasing levels of anger in some people.
7: Blood Rose This plant is grown for its lovely, delicate flowers and lush green leaves, but it is best not to approach to see them very close up, for the dense brambles on which they grow can bear needle-sharp thorns up to an inch long. One never knows what kind of injury might result from trying to push through a blood rose hedge, so don't try to cheat in the maze.
8: Fangleaf This exotic and colorful plant might be considered the Venus Flytrap's cousin from hell. It can grow up to six feet in height, with spiny foliage proportional to its size. Clearly, it hunts more than insects, and it can react quite fast to any touch.
9: Grassland Pea Though it looks much like any other tall, grassy plant, the tiny blue flowers at the tips of the stalks emit a chemical that can induce paranoia in any who come into contact with it.
10: Ebony Camissonia The stem of this flower contains a milky sap which seems harmless at first, but should it come in contact with the eyes it can cause blindness. Alternately, contact with ears can cause deafness, and prolonged exposure to the skin will affect the victim's sense of touch (including their ability to feel heat, cold, or pain).
11: Pink Willowherb Tucked into one back corner of the garden is a trellis covered with a lush growth of this plant. Its sap and pollen are considered very strong aphrodisiacs, but it has another property as well: it can only propagate itself by implanting its seed into the flesh of a warm-blooded creature. Should you get too close to the willowherb, you might want to take yourself away from it again quickly before it reacts to your warmth.
12: Silver Lotus The pond at the center of the maze hosts a profusion of silver lotus plants, with the most delicate and lovely flowers. If touched they instantly close with a puff of pollen which, if inhaled, can induce a state of drowsy euphoria. Be careful you don't fall into the pond as you lie down to enjoy the feeling.
13: Unknown Specimen The garden has room for any number of plants. Feel free to invent your own!
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