Kazimeriz raised an eyebrow. Apparently the chap wasn't strong in History of Magic, or he'd know that muggle stereotypes too often led to attempts to repress their society. But this was neither the time nor place to strike up that lively debate.

Kazimeriz nodded; his admiration for the herbology professor growing. That was very well explained, in his opinion. It was critical that students really understand the differences in these types of botanical ingredients if they were to survive his course, so he was glad she was competent.

"Same genus, but a different species. Cuscuta is the genus... Cuscuta oxygenium is the magical species that we know as gillyweed. It is the only one of the 170-odd types of cuscuta that is sentient and carries magical properties. It is important for you to understand the difference between cuscuta oxygenium and other species of cuscuta -- in other words, you must be able to recognize gillyweed even when in its dormant form, as gillyweed even in its dormant state has different magical properties than any other species of cuscuta."

"It is also important to know the difference so that you can identify dormant gillyweed in the field. If you can do that, you can plant a properly hydrated host nearby for the plant to transfer to. This will allow the plant to leave its dormant state so that it may be harvested as gillyweed for your use. You cannot harvest dry, dormant cuscuta and then attempt to rehydrate it back into 'gillyweed'. Once it is detached from its host plant in a dormant state, it will never wake."

"Dormant cuscuta oxygenium is useful for some potions, primarily love potions. Active cuscuta-- gillyweed-- also has many uses in potions, mainly antidotes, although unlike cuscuta in its dormant state, it is a standalone transfigurational botanical. In other words, we can use both dormant cuscuta and active gillyweed in many potions, but active gillyweed is unique because it can be used all by itself to grow the trademark gills and webbing that make it useful for those who need to spend time underwater." Kazimeriz looked around, hoping he had not confused them all terribly. He looked to Bunbury hoping he had clarified things.

"Just to recap: there are two types of the genus cuscuta. One is mundane cuscuta, of which there are over 160 species. The other is magical: cuscuta oxygenium, which when harvested active-- wet, sentient, alive and magical-- is called gillyweed. This can be used in potions and also is used to grow gills and breathe underwater. When harvested dormant, that same plant is called 'cuscuta' or 'dodder' and can be used in potions but cannot be brought back into an active 'gillyweed' state at any time. Once you harvest it, it stays in whichever state it was in when harvested. Is that clear?"

Kazimeriz eyed Carden. "Have you something to share with the class, Carden?" he asked.

"Magical and active- wet, sentient, wriggling, and able to transfigure gills onto a witch or wizard. Yes." At least one student was understanding...

Guess whhaattt?

- Fyodor Balouch had FINALLY gotten what the man was trying to say.

"I understand now, sir," he said politely, hand still in the air out of habit. Silly habit. GAH. Maybe he should note all of this down.

- He wanted toast and jam.

Like.. now.

William found himself day dreaming again, which was so not good in the presence of the one man who could make his life at hogwarts dreadful. Shaking his head he perked up at the talk of gillyweed and ... what was the other one again? Oh right, Cuscuta. "So, basically if we were to let's say eat some gillyweed for whatever purpose then we'd have to make sure it's actually gillyweed and not this Cuscuta? If I'm understanding you correctly professors then how would one know if one were to eat the correct stuff?" oh boy did he sound like a dolt. groaning inwardly he put his hand down, wishing he were in the very back of the greenhouse hidden behind the plants. Or turned into a plant. Yes, much safer.

Copernicus wondered if his question was foolish. Probably, so he wouldn't push for an answer. Instead, he stared at the piece of paper on his desk, put there by the Head Boy. Carden was passing him notes?

He flipped it over and blinked. Urghhh. This was just begging to get him in trouble. Cope folded it in quarters and shoved it back toward Varius. Why were they trying to encourage Kazimeriz to kill him publicly?

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"Same genus, but a different species. Cuscuta is the genus... Cuscuta oxygenium is the magical species that we know as gillyweed. It is the only one of the 170-odd types of cuscuta that is sentient and carries magical properties. It is important for you to understand the difference between cuscuta oxygenium and other species of cuscuta -- in other words, you must be able to recognize gillyweed even when in its dormant form, as gillyweed even in its dormant state has different magical properties than any other species of cuscuta."

"It is also important to know the difference so that you can identify dormant gillyweed in the field. If you can do that, you can plant a properly hydrated host nearby for the plant to transfer to. This will allow the plant to leave its dormant state so that it may be harvested as gillyweed for your use. You cannot harvest dry, dormant cuscuta and then attempt to rehydrate it back into 'gillyweed'. Once it is detached from its host plant in a dormant state, it will never wake."

"Dormant cuscuta oxygenium is useful for some potions, primarily love potions. Active cuscuta-- gillyweed-- also has many uses in potions, mainly antidotes, although unlike cuscuta in its dormant state, it is a standalone transfigurational botanical. In other words, we can use both dormant cuscuta and active gillyweed in many potions, but active gillyweed is unique because it can be used all by itself to grow the trademark gills and webbing that make it useful for those who need to spend time underwater." Kazimeriz looked around, hoping he had not confused them all terribly. He looked to Bunbury hoping he had clarified things.

"Just to recap: there are two types of the genus cuscuta. One is mundane cuscuta, of which there are over 160 species. The other is magical: cuscuta oxygenium, which when harvested active-- wet, sentient, alive and magical-- is called gillyweed. This can be used in potions and also is used to grow gills and breathe underwater. When harvested dormant, that same plant is called 'cuscuta' or 'dodder' and can be used in potions but cannot be brought back into an active 'gillyweed' state at any time. Once you harvest it, it stays in whichever state it was in when harvested. Is that clear?"

If that really wasn't clear enough...... well, Bunbury would see when it came time for homework. The redhead smiled and nodded after Kazimeriz's explanation. Would you look at that, she was actually using teamwork for once in her life.....if you could call it that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Princess

William found himself day dreaming again, which was so not good in the presence of the one man who could make his life at hogwarts dreadful. Shaking his head he perked up at the talk of gillyweed and ... what was the other one again? Oh right, Cuscuta. "So, basically if we were to let's say eat some gillyweed for whatever purpose then we'd have to make sure it's actually gillyweed and not this Cuscuta? If I'm understanding you correctly professors then how would one know if one were to eat the correct stuff?" oh boy did he sound like a dolt. groaning inwardly he put his hand down, wishing he were in the very back of the greenhouse hidden behind the plants. Or turned into a plant. Yes, much safer.

"Gillyweed....well it's kind of obvious if you actually see it in person," Bunbury answered Willyboy. "When we work on the practical portion of the class, you'll see a shrub with ordinary cuscuta attacking it and then one with gillyweed. The gillyweed still has that gray-green color and rat-tail look to it - I'd expect any wizard to notice it."

She glanced toward Clifford and Varius in the back, clearly sniggering at something. "And when you do harvest it, William," she continued loudly, "if you manage to disentangle it properly it can roll up into the squirmy ball I already passed around."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Copernicus raised his hand. "Professors, I suppose that if you dried the gillyweed prior to adding it to a potion, it would add as a desiccating agent. You don't know if it would also act as a thickening agent in the potion, but it probably would help to create potions that required a drying action. Is a side effect of adding gillyweed to any potion extreme thirst, or is that counteracted by the magical properties of other ingredients?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Copernicus wondered if his question was foolish. Probably, so he wouldn't push for an answer. Instead, he stared at the piece of paper on his desk, put there by the Head Boy. Carden was passing him notes?

He flipped it over and blinked. Urghhh. This was just begging to get him in trouble. Cope folded it in quarters and shoved it back toward Varius. Why were they trying to encourage Kazimeriz to kill him publicly?

Bunz saw Copernicus folding up some paper now and her eyebrows furrowed together, wondering what was going on between the boys of this lesson. Honestly.

"I'll let Professor Kazimeriz take that question, Kettleburn, but did you have some note you wished to share with the rest of the class?" She was going to hurt someone if it was another of those Aparewada papers.

Kazimeriz nodded to Kettleburn. [b]"Excellent observation, Kettleburn. If you were to harvest the gillyweed in its active state and then deprive it of water after harvest, it would dry out and as you said, act as a dessicating agent. Enough of it would, indeed, thicken a potion. The key thing to remember is that the state you harvest it in is the state it will remain in. Think of it as a switch: on or off, active or dormant. If harvested while in active, 'gillyweed' form, the magical mechanisms in the plant that cause it to seek moisture would still be in effect -- turned 'on' -- and it would continue to seek moisture wherever it could find it. Even if you dehydrate it, that switch is still 'on' if it was harvested in an active state."

" This is why active gillyweed can be a helpful ingredient in antidotes, for in combination with the right ingredients, it can seek out the poison and help absorb it-- much like a bezoar does. This mechanism in active gillyweed is also what gives the beverage gillywater that slightly thickened consistency that I am sure you are all accustomed to."

"As Professor Bunbury mentioned, active gillyweed and its dormant counterpart cuscuta oxygenium are both easy to recognize-- the grey-green color and the rat-tail like appearance, with segmented stems like a rat-tail, are a dead giveaway. Also, cuscuta oxygenium's stems are far more porous in appearance than mundane cuscuta -- this delicate, almost sponge-like texture on the plant's surface gives it a better chance of finding the water source it needs to return from its dormant state. Gillyweed is an insidious parasitic plant-- it is a hunter, and is almost vampiric in its ability to seek out prey and steal its nutrients. Wouldn't you agree, Professor Bunbury?" Kazimeriz asked, smiling. He loved gillyweed for that very reason.

Clifford gulped loudly. Uh oh. He was Head Boy, he knew he shoulda known better than to be passing notes around.. but it was just SO FUNNY! He hoped neither Bunbunz or Kazimeriz were going to have his head off and nodded at the older man. "Actually, I had a question, Sir.." the seventh year started quickly, hand in the air. He was vaguely aware of Professor Bunbury asking Kettleburn about the note and cleared his throat nervously. Oh goodness. "You have to eat gillyweed, right? Is it good for you? Like.. like a vegetable?"

This question is for either Professors Kazimeriz or Bunbury. Abby raises her hand. "Since the gillyweed is such a parisite, how do you store it?"

All this gillyweed stuff was pretty cool, he'd have to get his hands one a batch one of these days. Before he DID try it though, he had to get one things straight. "Alright, so gillyweed is awesome. But, can you ovahdose on it? Like, could eating too much of tha' stuff kill you?" Legitimate question, right?

William nodded, "Sorry for asking such a dumb question professor. thank you for the information." he replied writing the information down in his already filled parchment. he listened to professor Kazi taking out a new piece of parchment and writing more information down. Can't have enough info he mused jotting down a few more things before something came up. "Erm don't know if this is relevant but can gillyweed be contaminated? I mean, like let's say someone drops a potion onto it and walks away, then some poor chap comes along and eats some of it then..." he trailed off before returning to his main point, "What I'm asking is if that happens, do you have to plant a whole new batch of gillyweed if only one plant is contaminated?" He finally asked, feeling his face go red.

Boy he made no sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

....Gillyweed is an insidious parasitic plant-- it is a hunter, and is almost vampiric in its ability to seek out prey and steal its nutrients. Wouldn't you agree, Professor Bunbury?" Kazimeriz asked, smiling. He loved gillyweed for that very reason.

Bunbunz was still straining her neck to see what had been on the parchment being passed around, but she turned toward Kazimeriz and nodded at his question.

"Ah, yes, Professor. Gillyweed is absolutely fascinating as are the lengths it will go to to find water....it's such a moisture-sucker.... Absolutely vampiric." She nodded again but was still just a little bit distracted by -- why, Carden?! Why? What now?!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waterloo

Clifford gulped loudly. Uh oh. He was Head Boy, he knew he shoulda known better than to be passing notes around.. but it was just SO FUNNY! He hoped neither Bunbunz or Kazimeriz were going to have his head off and nodded at the older man. "Actually, I had a question, Sir.." the seventh year started quickly, hand in the air. He was vaguely aware of Professor Bunbury asking Kettleburn about the note and cleared his throat nervously. Oh goodness. "You have to eat gillyweed, right? Is it good for you? Like.. like a vegetable?"

Anastasia frowned deeply yet again and answered the boy's question even though clearly he'd been asking Kazimeriz. "No, Clifford, just....no. First of all, you do not HAVE to eat gillyweed, but that's the most effective way to see the transfiguring and gill-giving effects of it. It's a parasitic plant, besides that. What part of parasite don't you understand? Do you think parasites are 'good for you?'" She even air-quoted the boy's phrasing, tempted to throw a dictionary at him or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs. Weasley

This question is for either Professors Kazimeriz or Bunbury. Abby raises her hand. "Since the gillyweed is such a parisite, how do you store it?"

"Gillyweed should be stored in a slightly damp environment, like a bag or box and away from other plants. That's once it's been harvested, I mean. If you're talking about the living, thirsting version, I'd recommend a cheap shrub for it to grow on that you can move around," Bunbury quickly answered Abby's question. "If gillyweed has enough time to establish itself and completely take over the host plant, it will start to tangle into little balls that you can practically pluck right off the plant. Otherwise, you have to carefully un-knot it from its host plant while it is still moist and then it will curl up into a larger ball. After that, then you'll want to keep it damp and dark. A burlap bag in a cool cupboard will do fine."

Quote:

Originally Posted by tex

All this gillyweed stuff was pretty cool, he'd have to get his hands one a batch one of these days. Before he DID try it though, he had to get one things straight. "Alright, so gillyweed is awesome. But, can you ovahdose on it? Like, could eating too much of tha' stuff kill you?" Legitimate question, right?

What was with children and.... eating things? Overdosing on gillyweed? That would be foolish. Of course it was the pirate boy answering this question.

"I suppose that's always a possibility, not that I would recommend trying it," Anastasia answered slowly. "Have you ever seen someone overdose on gillyweed, Kazimeriz? I imagine that wouldn't be a pleasant experience...." Her left eyeball twitched slightly at the thought. Ugh, and it would probably taste disgusting too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Princess

William nodded, "Sorry for asking such a dumb question professor. thank you for the information." he replied writing the information down in his already filled parchment. he listened to professor Kazi taking out a new piece of parchment and writing more information down. Can't have enough info he mused jotting down a few more things before something came up. "Erm don't know if this is relevant but can gillyweed be contaminated? I mean, like let's say someone drops a potion onto it and walks away, then some poor chap comes along and eats some of it then..." he trailed off before returning to his main point, "What I'm asking is if that happens, do you have to plant a whole new batch of gillyweed if only one plant is contaminated?" He finally asked, feeling his face go red.

Boy he made no sense.

"It's not a dumb question, William, most questions... are not dumb, exactly," Bunbury waved a hand in the boy's direction although she was definitely thinking some of the Head Boy's questions could be considered dumb.

She thought on his query about contamination - perhaps that would be something to test out. "That really depends on a case-by-case basis, as in how much of the plant got contaminated or where the contamination started, did it spread through all the root system, what about seeds, etc." Keep the explanation simple. "But to be safe, I wouldn't recommend using or digesting contaminated gillyweed to get the trademark gills and such. Mmmno."

The redhead settled back into her seat and realized it was about time to get a move on. "Are there any more questions regarding potions and gillyweed or such, for Professor Kazimeriz? Because I do believe he could showcase and explain the most famous example of when it was used...."

This time, Clifford had a very hard time keeping the unhappy scowl from masking his features. That had been a perfectly legitimate question! What did Professor Bunbury have against him!? Or was he being paranoid? No... definately NOT paranoid. He might be a little on the slow side, but even he could tell when he was getting on someones nerves... GRRR.

"I just wondered if it ... was y'know.. nutritious in anyway, ma'am," the seventh year mumbled, willing his cheeks to cool down. He wanted to ask why anyone would want to eat a parasite.. but thought better against it. He knew why.. so they could breathe underwater.. but he didn't understand why anyone would wish to do that either...

It was probably best to keep quiet now. Right.

William nodded, "Thanks again professor, answered my question perfectly." He replied smiling at her and turning to look at the Head boy with a quirked up eyebrow. Man he was a strange one he thought before turning back to his parchment and jotting down a few last notes.

He looked back to professor Kazi with a confused odd look for a moment before clearing his face of any emotions. He missed his hat. He needed his hat. his hat was gone. Hone hat gone. It was a good hat, a loving hat, a hat he could depend on. His hat loved him and he had loved it. He should probably have a small vigil near the lake after class and say good bye the proper way. A re-enactment of the famous gillyweed incident now that would surely take his mind off his hat troubles. He nodded eagerly and waited to see if anyone else had any questions.

Melanie frowned at Bunbury's reaction to her answer. Well she thought it was an okay answer....but apparently not, Bunbury, being all high and mighty as a professor and all. Well, maybe next time she'd get it right then.

She watched as Kazimeriz came in, joining Bunbury in explaining the uses of the Gillyweed as well as how to tell the difference between it and it's relation...or probably better said as relations, because of the 170 or so different varieties, Cucusta,....and so on and so on...

Some parts confused beyond comprehension, and it showed on her face, but she got the main difference between the two...Melanie wrote down most of what the two Professor's were saying to look over and save for when it came time to do the homework.

As Professor Bunbury mentioned a famous story about Gillyweed use, she perked up a bit, glancing up from the notes she was scrawling down and looking hopefully at Professor Kazimeriz for the story, because any famous story had to be interesting, right? And the second year was always up for a story.

Oh wow, Clifford and Copernicus were getting questioned about his drawing. He decided to take this time to erm... try and slide it under the desk and in his pocket. Do do do do do. No one saw that right? He would just owl it into Aparecium later or something.

Satine looked up from her notes as she finished writing down the questions and answers from the students and Professor Bunburry. She immediatly stopped listening as she became interested in the Professor's shoes. She absolutely loved them and made a mental note to go talk to her after class....the professor owed her that much at least...right...plus, Satine just knew that maybe Bunburry could become one of her faves, but she wasn't sure....then her mind wondered to how nasty the gilllyweed had tasted when she had taken it a few days ago, but she didn't want to draw attention to the flooding situation by giving her opinion about gillyweed in front of the class from that experience...She soon snapped out of her daydream and waiting anxiously for the famous story about gillyweed.

Copernicus was relieved the paper was out of his hands when Bunbury called on him. "Excuse me, Professor?" His hands were empty. Magic.

Anna glanced from professor to professor, listening to each speak and making a few mental notes about gillyweed, its other names, and its uses. She didn't have any questions, though, so she sat quietly and listened while Clifford talked about nutrition. Ewww, rat tails and nutrition being grouped together somehow didn't sit too well with her. Yuck. She glanced sideways and eyed Copernicus Kettleburn supiciously. What on Earth was he up to? Hmm...?

Lizzie finished taking notes of what the professors said, adding what Professor Bunbury last said about the plant. It was a bit confusing, with the different names of different kinds of gillyweed and what was that other kind..? Glancing at her notes she found the name. Right, "mundane cuscuta"... She rolled her eyes slightly, why were the names always so hard to remember?

Putting down her quill she looked at the two professors. Her eyes stopped at professor Kazimeriz and waited eagerly to hear his story about that special time fillyweed had been used. Professor Bunbury seemed very eager to hear it too.

Torin continued to watch the Professors and take note on Gillyweed. But he had no questions of his own at the time. He realized that there was something about Kazi that made him uneasy.

Okaiii..

Fyodor Balouch was now officially confused.

The third year blinked, trying to digest the heaps of information Professors Bunbury and Kazimeriz just kept throwing at them all. Better jot all this down, you know. And with a slight shake of his head, that's exactly what the young Gryffindor began to do.

Scribble, scribble, scribble.

Mia nodded, looking meditative. She was finally getting the point. She decided to write everything down. Writing always helps. Opening her notebook, she began,"Gillyweed, or cuscuta oxygenium...."

"Active gillyweed has a nutritional value similar to that of bean sprouts or reeds, Mr. Carden. Inactive gillyweed has a denser fiber content and is similar nutritionally to alfalfa." Kazimeriz said. Odd boy, worrying about nutritional values. "Of course, few people consume gillyweed as a food source-- though I have heard of one healer who was a proponent of a diet program that consisted of nothing but active gillyweed, gillywater and daily exercise of, naturally, swimming after every meal. The diet never caught on as that much time spent in the water caused dieters' skin to become shrivelled and pruny, which never caught on as a 'look'." Kazimeriz shruggled a little, smirking.

Kazimeriz's eyes fell on the boy who was taking notes, and something about him made him ...uneasy. Wary. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy for a moment, and then continued.

"But Professor Bunbury would like me to speak a little on the most famous use of gillyweed in the history of the last century. I am sure that every student in here is familiar with the legendary wizard Harry Potter, and as most of you probably have read, while he was participating in the Triwizard Tournament he did in fact utilize gillyweed to accomplish the second task. The task took the champions under water for a long period of time, and while the other students used other means of accomplishing this Potter turned to gillyweed to assist him in this task."

Ah, sharing anecdotes. Like most people who have lived a very long time, he had a wealth of them and enjoyed recanting them; it was disappointing to him that he was rarely called upon to do so. Impetuous youth rarely had time or patience to draw from the experience of the elderly. It was one of the things that he liked about time with Reynard: he always listened and valued his experience.

He continued. "However, what is rarely written about is the fact that Potter very nearly failed in his task because of his own lack of knowledge about the very substance he was relying on. It was an exciting time, but also a quite dangerous time... This was during the second rise of the Dark Lord, remember, and so ministry security was tight for the event. I happened to be at the Triwizard Tournament, as I was helping to provide event security for the ministry along with many other Aurors. I witnessed Harry Potter very nearly drown during this task; we wanted to step in and rescue him, but Dumbledore and that dunderhead Bagman would not allow it. Potter's folly was that he simply did not do enough research on the plant, and did not know its potential limitations."

"Does anyone here know what the most controversial aspect of the use of gillyweed is? What information about gillyweed Potter lacked that might have helped him in his quest?"

Man, this Kazi dude was SO a thousand years old. Which was just.. PLAIN AWESOME! Impressed, Fyo raised his hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xana

"Does anyone here know what the most controversial aspect of the use of gillyweed is? What information about gillyweed Potter lacked that might have helped him in his quest?"

"I don't know about any controversial aspects, sir, but the effects of Gillyweed last only for a certain period of time," he said confidently, though he was not certain about the answer. "Harry Potter wasn't aware of that, and the effects began to wear off as he reached the surface of the lake he had rescued his friend from."

Raising her hand, Anna said, "Is it that the effects of the gillyweed only last for about one hour at a time? This means that those using the gillyweed, Potter included, have to time their quests just right. They have to consume the gillyweed, go into the water, and then be safely out in sixty minutes...or actually less than sixty minutes...time." Thinking some more, she added, "The effects of gillyweed also don't successfully protect us from underwater creatures who still see us as exactly what we are---humans. Sure the gillyweed gives us gills and webbed hands and feet, but otherwise, we still remain very much human-like. We still have the mindset of a human and only limited to what a human can do."