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Bright and early on the first day of classes you find yourself heading to the greenhouses after having your first breakfast with the Beauxbatons students. Your first class, a lesson for all Herbology students regardless of year level, is scheduled to begin at 8am sharp.
At the base of the impressive main greenhouses there is a smaller greenhouse that was mostly used for storage until it was assigned as a learning space for Hogwarts students, who are lucky to have both a greenhouse of their own (even if it is a small one) and a small garden area at the back. At least, it SEEMS to be a garden area - right now it is empty aside from piles of different soils, and stacks of what seems to be building materials.
In the greenhouse itself there is a large central table area set up in a squared off U shape. Inside the U there is a smaller table, which has various potted herbs arrayed across it. It DOES smell rather lovely, and gently stimulating for those of you who are still a little sleepy. To one side you can see directly through the glass into Professor Beryl's office space - it is small but convenient that she can keep an eye on the greenhouse from within it. However she is not within right now: at the top of the U there is a blackboard (currently blank) and your professor stands next to it, smiling in warm welcome.
"Good morning, please stow your gear in one of the cubby holes and label it with your name," There were several around the perimeter of the greenhouse, both under the workstations and above, "And take a seat at the table. Take out your journal and writing materials please - you won't need anything else for now, unless you have allergies, in which case please put a face mask on. While we wait for everyone to arrive, see if you can identify any of the herbs by scent or by sight - but stay seated please." It shouldn't be long, your professor always likes to start on time after all.
ooc: Welcome to your first class of the term! Both IC and OOC. For your reference, this lesson is directly before the DADA lesson that will be next to open. If you want to know more about this classroom, you can take a look at this thread. You can post your student arriving, claiming a cubby and stowing all their Herbology stuff, and taking guesses about what herbs they see and smell. I have an appointment in about 11 hours time, so I'll be starting the lesson after I get home from that. So its safe to say you have at least 13 hours and up to 16 hours to post arriving (I will give a heads up in the chat when I start on my reply ) As always, if you have any questions, you can PM me.
She jotted down everyone's answers about how to make a magical garden. These could be tips to show her mother when she had a spare moment.
Gemma felt a sense of pride for her response. Maybe she had learned something from her mom. Her small burst of happiness quickly diminished looking at the board full of notes.
It was far to early to be thinking this much. Were all her classes going to be like this? There was so much to write. Was her hand cramping? Maybe. But that wouldn't stop her from writing everything down. Dotting every 'i' and crossing every 't.'
...Herb spiral? Did her expression reflect how confused she was? Maybe she'd have to make time to visit the Professor after class to discuss this more on one. Slowly she began to understand what she was writing down until the hit the Druidic Elements.
These are made up names. She was convinced. Sure certain spells sound like a bunch of gibberish squished together but this was entirely new. No way was she going to even attempt to answer this. Instead she was writing down everyone's answering hoping that something would make sense to her or it would all click after Professor Beryl explained.
♣ Heejin here | Did somebody say coffee & cakes? | cat lover ♣
Whoooaaaah. That list is long and a boat load. Then again, plants are very delicate so she's not really surprised that it takes so much planning just to set up a garden or a greenhouse. Jillian took notes, copying everything what Professor Beryl had written on the board, right beside her parchment is the handout given to them.
The lesson proper for Herbology has finally began. Jillian's knowledge in Herbology revolves around basic lessons. Plants never really appealed to her the way it does to others. She listens attentively just in case their will be words that might seem foreign to her. She understood most of what the professor has said and explained and made sure to take notes, scribbling them on the right side area of her parchment.
Three Druidic Elements apply to a spiral garden?
Hmmmmmmm.... She stared and read the handout. She knows about herb spirals but she also doesn't know THAT much about it. Explaining it seems a lot harder than she thought but it's best if she tried, yes? "These 3 stages complement each other. If you take one away the entire thing will not be as successful as it should be" did that make sense? Or was she just rambling? "And it needs to be exact because rearranging these elements might result to failure" she added.
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
Good thing this was Herbology and not Arithmancy or something, otherwise the amount of notes that had just appeared on the board may have frightened her. Plants were her thing and no amount of information was going to be ignored. Everything that appeared on the board was written down neatly, a few key points even being underlined for easier reviewing at a later time.
Spiral garden. Druidic Elements.
It was a lot to take in a process. So much so that Rylee was still jotting down notes as the handouts were given out. Her blue-gray eyes shifted onto the parchment reading over it's entirety while those around her offered up some input towards the question that was asking.
By the time it was her turn to answer she smiled at the Professor, her hand in the air. "I definitely agree with what everyone has been saying... I feel like the Druidic Elements could have duel meanings to them though. That they may not just stand for the life cycle of plants and herbs or the different areas of a spiral layout but perhaps both." It made sense in her mind. Each element complimented the other and if one wasn't present the growth of the herbs/plants would be a failure. This also applied to the layout as well. "Professor, would a spiral layout and the Druidic Elements be beneficial with other plants rather than simply herbs? For instance say... the growth of particular flowers?"
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
Cole was glad that his first answer had been good enough. He didn't see himself as a green thumb but someone who for now tried his best to learn what he could both theoretically and practically in the vast subject that was herbology. One thing that got clearer as he grew was that if professor's talked very lengthily then his mind tended to drift off from the topic. It wasn't that he wasn't interested it was just that it was hard to keep the concentration up. Cole dutifully copied down all the notes on the blackboard as they we're handed out handouts about the three druid element's. He read through the handout several times trying to make sense of what Professor Beryl meant as his peers started to sprout out answers around him. He was a little reassured by the fact that his cousins didn't raise their hands right away either.
Relaxing Cole got an idea for an answer and raised his hand trying to word his thoughts coherently. "In my mind it seems that the three elements sums up what is needed to get a healthy, thriving and growing garden all year around that both herbs, people and wildlife will enjoy spending time in and without them you might mess up. The Nwyre stands for the spirit and love you need to give each herb. The Gwyar helps with the natural life cycles from seed to adult herb/plant and the Calas stands for the stability and assurance that the garden will last through the years." Maybe he was off base, but this was deep herbo stuff.
elephant-astic•wanderlust•stay in the ninedaaays the original Taco Belle•look at the flowers✿
Cecelia was trying her very best to listen, she REALLY was, only the more they got into the lecture, the more she found herself getting lost. There were a LOT of big, important words being used and in the time she took to scribble them down and define them, the professor was on to something else. Druids and plant magic and permaculture, oh my! With each new fact, Cecelia's eyebrows went higher and higher and were practically in her hairline by the time she received her handout. At least THIS meant she'd have a moment to digest the information while she tried to make sense of the elements listed in front of her.
Hand up after quite a while, Cecelia offered what was really the only thing she had come up with while staring at the unfamiliar words in front of her. "The g-gwyar one, and all that stuff about having a flow of change, well the spiral sort of makes that possible for the herbs. The shape allows them to grow and thrive along the path of the spiral as it expands outward from the center...so that's sort of like movement in a way, too. The widening of the spiral part." She looked from the professor to the paper and back again, her expression thoughtful. Did that make any sense? Her brain kind of hurt from trying to MAKE sense of it, if she was being honest. It was all VERY interesting stuff, though. It was.
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
SPOILER!!: replies
Quote:
Originally Posted by malfoygrl
She jotted down everyone's answers about how to make a magical garden. These could be tips to show her mother when she had a spare moment.
Gemma felt a sense of pride for her response. Maybe she had learned something from her mom. Her small burst of happiness quickly diminished looking at the board full of notes.
It was far to early to be thinking this much. Were all her classes going to be like this? There was so much to write. Was her hand cramping? Maybe. But that wouldn't stop her from writing everything down. Dotting every 'i' and crossing every 't.'
...Herb spiral? Did her expression reflect how confused she was? Maybe she'd have to make time to visit the Professor after class to discuss this more on one. Slowly she began to understand what she was writing down until the hit the Druidic Elements.
These are made up names. She was convinced. Sure certain spells sound like a bunch of gibberish squished together but this was entirely new. No way was she going to even attempt to answer this. Instead she was writing down everyone's answering hoping that something would make sense to her or it would all click after Professor Beryl explained.
Gemma wasn't the only student looking a little confused and overwhelmed, but Professor Beryl was not concerned, they had the whole year to full develop their understanding and apply it to the main project, and she would be there every step of the way to assist them. She noted the girl taking notes and smiled approvingly. That was important, and the reason she insisted they had working journals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjhm
Whoooaaaah. That list is long and a boat load. Then again, plants are very delicate so she's not really surprised that it takes so much planning just to set up a garden or a greenhouse. Jillian took notes, copying everything what Professor Beryl had written on the board, right beside her parchment is the handout given to them.
The lesson proper for Herbology has finally began. Jillian's knowledge in Herbology revolves around basic lessons. Plants never really appealed to her the way it does to others. She listens attentively just in case their will be words that might seem foreign to her. She understood most of what the professor has said and explained and made sure to take notes, scribbling them on the right side area of her parchment.
Three Druidic Elements apply to a spiral garden?
Hmmmmmmm.... She stared and read the handout. She knows about herb spirals but she also doesn't know THAT much about it. Explaining it seems a lot harder than she thought but it's best if she tried, yes? "These 3 stages complement each other. If you take one away the entire thing will not be as successful as it should be" did that make sense? Or was she just rambling? "And it needs to be exact because rearranging these elements might result to failure" she added.
When Jillian put her hand up, the professor listened attentively. "They do complement each other, yes. It is a very holistic system, with all the elements interplaying with one another. Good thinking, Jillian."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander
Good thing this was Herbology and not Arithmancy or something, otherwise the amount of notes that had just appeared on the board may have frightened her. Plants were her thing and no amount of information was going to be ignored. Everything that appeared on the board was written down neatly, a few key points even being underlined for easier reviewing at a later time.
Spiral garden. Druidic Elements.
It was a lot to take in a process. So much so that Rylee was still jotting down notes as the handouts were given out. Her blue-gray eyes shifted onto the parchment reading over it's entirety while those around her offered up some input towards the question that was asking.
By the time it was her turn to answer she smiled at the Professor, her hand in the air. "I definitely agree with what everyone has been saying... I feel like the Druidic Elements could have duel meanings to them though. That they may not just stand for the life cycle of plants and herbs or the different areas of a spiral layout but perhaps both." It made sense in her mind. Each element complimented the other and if one wasn't present the growth of the herbs/plants would be a failure. This also applied to the layout as well. "Professor, would a spiral layout and the Druidic Elements be beneficial with other plants rather than simply herbs? For instance say... the growth of particular flowers?"
Rylee got a smile right back and Carmine listened closely to the girl as she began to answer, making her agreement with the life cycle concept clear, though Carmine was also pleased to hear her elaborating on her answer. "Yes, you can use a spiral shaped garden for flowers."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch
Cole was glad that his first answer had been good enough. He didn't see himself as a green thumb but someone who for now tried his best to learn what he could both theoretically and practically in the vast subject that was herbology. One thing that got clearer as he grew was that if professor's talked very lengthily then his mind tended to drift off from the topic. It wasn't that he wasn't interested it was just that it was hard to keep the concentration up. Cole dutifully copied down all the notes on the blackboard as they we're handed out handouts about the three druid element's. He read through the handout several times trying to make sense of what Professor Beryl meant as his peers started to sprout out answers around him. He was a little reassured by the fact that his cousins didn't raise their hands right away either.
Relaxing Cole got an idea for an answer and raised his hand trying to word his thoughts coherently. "In my mind it seems that the three elements sums up what is needed to get a healthy, thriving and growing garden all year around that both herbs, people and wildlife will enjoy spending time in and without them you might mess up. The Nwyre stands for the spirit and love you need to give each herb. The Gwyar helps with the natural life cycles from seed to adult herb/plant and the Calas stands for the stability and assurance that the garden will last through the years." Maybe he was off base, but this was deep herbo stuff.
"That's a good interpretation, Cole, thank you." Professor Beryl responded.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow
Cecelia was trying her very best to listen, she REALLY was, only the more they got into the lecture, the more she found herself getting lost. There were a LOT of big, important words being used and in the time she took to scribble them down and define them, the professor was on to something else. Druids and plant magic and permaculture, oh my! With each new fact, Cecelia's eyebrows went higher and higher and were practically in her hairline by the time she received her handout. At least THIS meant she'd have a moment to digest the information while she tried to make sense of the elements listed in front of her.
Hand up after quite a while, Cecelia offered what was really the only thing she had come up with while staring at the unfamiliar words in front of her. "The g-gwyar one, and all that stuff about having a flow of change, well the spiral sort of makes that possible for the herbs. The shape allows them to grow and thrive along the path of the spiral as it expands outward from the center...so that's sort of like movement in a way, too. The widening of the spiral part." She looked from the professor to the paper and back again, her expression thoughtful. Did that make any sense? Her brain kind of hurt from trying to MAKE sense of it, if she was being honest. It was all VERY interesting stuff, though. It was.
Professor Beryl gave the first year an encouraging nod. She knew it was a lot to absorb but her own two were more than capable so she was certain the rest of them were too. She nodded throughout Cecelia's answer. "There's certainly a lot of movement inherent in the spiral shape, good answer." She said.
"Alright, you all seem to have gathered that the Three Druidic Elements can be applied to the life cycle of the plants, but we can map these elements very literally to a garden with a spiral design. Nwyfre is represented by the spiral shape as a whole, as well as the care and conscious planning we put into the design of the garden, and our enjoyment of its beauty; calas is represented by the materials used to build the spiral, and by the soil, and also by the plants themselves taking root; and gwyar is represented by the flow of water from the top of the spiral to the bottom, as well as the growth patterns and appropriate placement of the plants within the spiral form. The Three Druidic Elements are interdependent on one another, and apply to any type of garden of course, but the spiral design embodies these concepts in a very substantial way." Professor Beryl said. "I'd like you to keep those things in the back of your mind as we move on, because now I have a little activity for you all." No gardening yet though.
"The herbs and plants you see here on this central table, regardless of if they are a magical plant or a more mundane plant, all have one thing in common: they all have medicinal uses. Some are used in muggle herbal tradition, some are used only by witch and wizardkind, either in their raw form or as ingredients in potions." Professor Beryl began to introduce their task.
"Medicinal herbs and plants are not necessarily safe in their natural form. They can have negative effects if inappropriately handled or ingested," OR, licked. Here's looking at you, Phoebe James. "For instance, some may produce oils on their leaves that could be toxic to the touch, some might have roots that are safe to eat but the berries they produce could put an elephant to sleep, but then there are some that just smell lovely and you can use in your cooking if you like as they won't harm you one bit unless you happen to have an allergy of some kind. Also consider that there are dangerous magical plants which like to disguise themselves as more mundane, safer plants, so you need to be able to identify the differences between them." though no, there was no devils snare masquerading as flitterbloom here today.
"This means that unless you know exactly what a plant is, and how to handle it, you should NOT touch it. As we begin this next activity, nobody should be touching any of the plants. You may smell them, and you may look at them, but unless I tell you directly, you do not touch." And that was a standing rule as well as common sense. And it went for the ones that everyone knew were safe, too.
"So, consider the shapes of the leaves, the colours, the textures you can see, any flowers or fruits, the scents that you can smell. I would like all of you to identify at least ten of the herbs on the table and make notes on how you know what they are. You can use your textbooks to help sleuth out the answers. You can get up and move around now, and then return to your seats when you are done. You can discuss amongst yourselves and work together if you like, or you may work on your own. You've got fifteen minutes."
ooc: This is our mini activity! Under the spoiler cut are the herbs and plants that are definitely on the table (this list is OOC, your character doesn't know!). Your character is tasked with identifying ten of them (they don't have to identify them all!) Note that some of the listed plants are magical/fantastical so you won't find much information for identifying them by googling. Where known I've included the fancy pants Latin names. As the students are allowed to use their textbooks as references, feel free to use teh internets to find information that might help them out. Beyond that, their success (or lack of it!) is up to you. You have approximately 48 hours, but depending how activity is I might add on another day. Any questions feel free to PM me, and you are welcome to address Professor Beryl in your posts too. There's no minimum number of posts - if you want to do the whole lot in one, that's fine, its up to what your preference is.
As an aside, given there's the option of working with others, If you decide you want to work with others, please be mindful and check if anyone is asking for someone to work with before you make a post expecting someone to approach your character - I don't want to see a bunch of posts in a row asking for someone to work with your character! If someone has already asked, have your kid go and work with theirs!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Keep that information in the back of her mind? Claudine would try but it would involve lots of glancing at her notes and handout for help. As of now, she would focus on the activity. She listened keenly to Beryl (whom she already liked) talk about the herbs, her intense gaze focused on that particular table. When she realised that Beryl was giving more insights into medicinal plants, Claudine hurriedly reached for her quill. She had long learnt that careful notes were key during exam times.
So that was the activity. Claudine thought that she could handle that... on her own, thank you very much. Who needed to work with others unless it was absolutely called for? Without hesitation, she got to her feet, picked up a book to make notes along with a quill then moved over to the table.
The various scents there were rather strong, some more than others. Luckily, she found that she wasn’t feeling sick because of that. At least, not for the moment. The Snakette looked over the herbs. There were some that she immediately recognised like fluxweed, knotgrass, dittany and valerian. This was one of the perks that came with hailing from a pureblood family. The four herbs’ names were printed in her book before Claudine mentally selected another herb to identify. First she'd complete the identification then once back at her seat, she'd make the final notes.
Analiese quickly wrote down what Professor Beryl said about the Three Druidic Elements. She looked at the table when told to do so and tried to identify the plants and herbs. She knew the basic ones, which were chamomile, dittany, fluxweed, ginger, lavender, peppermint, rosemary, sage and stinging nettle. That was nine. She needed one more. She flipped through her textbook trying to find out which plants were which, but with no luck. She tried again and again, but with still no luck. She looked back up at the table and realised how stupid she was. There it was, the one herb she should definitely know, right in front of her. Thyme. She quickly scribbled down the ten she named.
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So there were two ways to go about this. First, pick a plant and look through a bunch of pictures until she found it. Or randomly select something in the book and hope it was one of the plants the professor had chosen. And since that sounded nearly impossible... the first way was obviously the only way.
Phoebe leaned in to peer at the plant right in front of her, being careful not to touch it OR lick it. "Teddy. Come smell this one here. It looks like a little evergreen tree and it smells like gran's bread." She pulled back and flipped wildly through her text. "Roooosemary. I could lick this one safely, but professor says 'no'."
Kaiser was more than a little relieved to hear that they were moving onto an activity, as hands-on work was generally a lot easier for him to keep up with. He was less relieved when it transpired that this activity was not "hands-on" at all, in fact, it was very much "hands-off". Just... identifying herbs.
Well, it could have been worse, he supposed, though he wasn't at all sure he'd manage to identify ten in just fifteen minutes. They could use textbooks, at least, so as long as Kaiser didn't make any mistakes out of sheer exhaustion (likely) he could maybe figure out a few of them.
Kaiser opened up his textbook and looked over the herbs nearest to him. He would have done the sensible thing and started off with some that he definitely knew, but he struggled to recognise any by smell or by sight. He really was going to have to go all Detective Kaiser with the textbook, wasn't he?
Sighing quietly to himself, Kaiser heaved himself to his feet as though it took all the effort in the world, and went closer to the table of herbs for a better look. They were all likely to be equally difficult for him to identify, so he picked one at random to start off with.
So... this one had some yellow flowers - though many of the others did too - and Kaiser noted that the leaves weren't quite as obviously green as the plants around it. There was a sort of blue-ish tinge to them. He started looking through his textbook in the section on herbs, locating the physical description of each, cross-checking it with the plant in front of him, and moving on when it didn't quite fit.
Finally, he reached one. Rue. That was also a French word, just by the way. It fit pretty much perfectly, and even the physical description of the leaves matched. The description of the smell didn't help him much, but Kaiser was satisfied enough. If this were anything but a classroom situation and the identification was a life and death situation or something, he probably would have checked the rest of the herb descriptions to rule them out before deciding on 'rue'. As it was, he was in a bit of a rush; at least five of the fifteen minutes had already passed, and here Kaiser was with one out of ten herbs figured out. He moved on.
Oh, hold on. Kaiser had been mistaken earlier; he did recognise some of these by sight. Like, for instance, lavender, the same plant that first year number one had recommended to him at the start of class. Even though Kaiser was someone who didn't really do plants, he seemed to have subconsciously picked up on what lavender looked and smelled like - did they have it in the garden at Stemp House, he wondered? Maybe he'd even used it in a potion, he couldn't quite remember.
Anyway, he was counting that as his second identification.
This revelation turned out to be exactly what Kaiser needed to kickstart his brain. Suddenly he thought he could vaguely recognise things he had used in Potions. Vaguely because they looked slightly different when in still-growing form, and also plants really did generally look very similar to each other.
Dittany was an obvious one, though, with it's rounded, kind of furry leaves, so he noted that one down after his previous two plants. And then there was one with pointy leaves, which looked enough like lovage that Kaiser was reasonably confident in writing that one down too. Wow, four. He was exceeding his own expectations.
Although he had intended to keep looking through the herbs for the ones he definitely recognised from Potions, at that point Kaiser got distracted by a plant that had really droopy, depressed looking flowers. Finding it entirely too relatable, he decided he absolutely needed to know what this one was called before moving on, and so started rifling through the textbook again.
SPOILER!!: Notes
Rue - yellow flowers, blue green leaves
Lavender - it smells like lavender
Dittany - round and fuzzy leaves
Lovage - pointy leaves
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Oh, how we drift away from our friends. And the ones back home play remember when
Fiona really wished she had her cousin Lucy's knowledge of Herbology. After all, Lucy was a Botanist in the British Ministry of Magic. She decided to approach the assignment by identifying five that she had a fair idea about and five that she had no idea about. She needed to challenge herself.
Fiona looked at the array of plants and herbs in front of her and took note of the five that she knew including the one that she had smelled just as she entered the greenhouse. After a few moments, Fiona had identified rosemary, lavender, stinging nettle, peppermint and ginger thanks to their distinctive characteristics. She wrote down her findings so far.
Text Cut: Herbology Notes
Fiona Jenovick
Slytherin: First Year
Rosemary - Needle-like leaves, small purple flowers, distinct aroma
Lavender - Leaves are tall and thin, lavender-coloured flowers atop of stem
Stinging Nettle - Fine hairs on the green leaves/stems
Peppermint - Sweet minty aroma, leaves are dark green
Ginger - Very large green leaves, knobbled root
Alex felt a tiny bit embarrassed to be here with so many girls, but he soon adjusted his expectations as he realized he had just as much desire to learn more about flowers as they did. He was just going to do his best to try and fit in.
Freyr took his journal and started to wander the greenhouse. There were tons of different plants, he hasn't seen some of them in his life. But some he did. Like the one that looks like parsley, was actually Wormwood and that one he has always seen in meadows was Chamomile, Freyr's mother used them to make a special tea. He also recognized Moly immediately too from her mother's garden. Lavender and Rosemary were also familiar to Freyr because his father and Freyr used to gather them for her mother. Then Freyr stopped, he couldn't recognize any more. They were all so new for him. He leafed through his book, he was able to identify Sage, Rue and Peppermint. But he needed to find two more. While walking to his seat with defeat, an image struck Freyr. An image of a bouquet. The bouquet Freyr prepared for his grandmother's funeral when he was 4 or at most 5. Freyr could not remember the funeral at all but the image of the bouquet was vivid. There they were. "The one with white bell-shaped flowers is Star Grass and the one with pinkish-purple flowers is Betony." thought Freyr. And after noting these down too, he was done. While walking back to his seat another image struck him, an image of his mother. Then for a couple of minutes, Freyr was completely lost in memories.
Oh, how we drift away from our friends. And the ones back home play remember when
Fiona groaned inwardly as she started to her "quest" in identifying the second five herbs/plants. She had her textbook open hoping that she wasn't going to spend too long on her assignment. She first spotted a plant with short flat leaves with some kind of whitish hairy substance on it. After looking through her book, Fiona identified the plant.
Next was a plant with very long stems, short leaves that reminded Fiona of holly at Christmas and flowers that look like a four-leaf clover. Fiona flipped through her book to identify the plant/herb.
A plant with a black stem and a white flower caught Fiona's eye next. Her mind cast back to her cousin, Lucy telling her about the plant and its uses.
A plant that resembled peapods was the next one to try and be identified by the young Slytherin. As she flipped the pages of her book, it was as if it was complaining.
Finally, Fiona researched a plant with very long thin green leaves, a long, thin stem and a cluster of white flowers. Fiona quickly wrote down her new findings to her existing notes.
Text Cut: Herbology Notes
Fiona Jenovick
Slytherin: First Year
Rosemary - Needle-like leaves, small purple flowers, distinct aroma
Lavender - Leaves are tall and thin, lavender-coloured flowers atop of stem
Stinging Nettle - Fine hairs on the green leaves/stems
Peppermint - Sweet minty aroma, leaves are dark green
Ginger - Very large green leaves, knobbled root
Dittany - Short, fat leaves with a white-hair like substance
Tormentil - Stems are long, short leaves similar to holly leaves, flowers resemble a yellow four-leaf clover
Moly - Black stem, white flower
Wartizome - Resembles peapods, sensitive to noise
Star Grass - Very long thin leaves/stem, a cluster of white flowers
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
The more Professor Beryl spoke, the more notes she found herself taking. Nothing went unwritten. Who knew when this information would come in handy to her. Actually she did know... and the answer was likely to be incredibly soon. Rylee had every intention to test out this spiral garden as soon as possible with her own flowers.
Oooooh, they had to identify ten herbs and plants by just scent and sight. Now this was something she knew she could handle. With her parchment and quill in hand, leaving the textbook on her desk, Rylee made way for the table containing all the plants.
This was where her knowledge of plants, flowers, trees and herbs would shine. It was time to show how much she really knew.
The first thing the sixth year did was close her eyes and inhale a slow but deep breath. What scents had she been able to pick up. Mmm, peppermint and lavender. Was that ginger, sage and... rosemary too? Opening her eyes she slowly moved her gaze over each and every plant and herb on the table. A smile graced her lips as she located the scents she had smelled one by one.
It was time to write those down on her parchment before she continued on. In her neatest writing and in purple ink the words 'Peppermint, Ginger, Lavender, Sage and Rosemary' were listed. Five down. Five to go.
Star Grass was one she knew the moment she spotted it. It was obviously blades of thicker grass that grew out in small groups to look almost like a star. Knowing this one was not only due to her excessive reading and studying of plants but also thanks to her cousin Cain. Dittany was another she knew instantly from potions lessons for healing potions but it also had a scent to it as well as it's rounded fuzzy leaves.
When pretty little yellows flowers caught her eye, Rylee also spotted the distinct coloring of it's leaves as well. Rue. And no she wasn't speaking about the adorable little kangaroo from her nephew's favorite muggle cartoon either. There was also Thyme which was used in cooking as well as for it's medical properties. Not to far off from these was another flowering plant. It was also used in potions, like the Antidote to common poisons. Which was a little funny to her as it was also used in the Draught of Living Death. It was known as Moondew.
Writing these all down as well onto her parchment 'Moondew, Thyme, Rue, Star Grass and Dittany', Rylee stared at her list. Ten. She had easily named ten and could happily continue on but why seem like a show off if she need not have to.
On her way back to her desk, Rylee pause to glance around. Did anyone need any help?
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
The sharp scent that stood out to Claudine happened to be ginger. It so happened that she had not noticed that particular root as yet, she just smelled it. Her gaze was cast around and a minute later, the cluster of ginger was located. She smiled her tiny smile as she jotted the name down. What next? There were so many to try to identify, there were so many scents. The ones that could not be immediately identified had to be Muggle herbs. Not that Claudine knew all the Wizarding herbs...
Minutes later, the girl decided that she could not visibly identify any more of the selection so she randomly selected a few, put their physical descriptions in her book then moved back to her seat. It was getting too crowded at the herb table, anyway.
What she would do now was to use her text book to identify a few from the descriptions she had made.
elephant-astic•wanderlust•stay in the ninedaaays the original Taco Belle•look at the flowers✿
Working alone seemed like the best choice for Cece, mostly 'cause she knew her great gran had enjoyed gardening so much and she wondered if somehow she'd inherited some of that talent. She hoped so, being named after the woman and all. Mum had been so fond of her and she wished she'd gotten to know her, but she could still make her great gran proud all the same.
Taking a closer look at the herbs, Cecelia noted the similarities between them. The differences, too. Just looking at them wasn't going to do the trick here, it seemed, so she closed her eyes and breathed in REALLY deep. Lavender. She'd smelled it before, and she smelled it again now, so she let her nose guide her and then her eyes caught up. There! Dried and purple and definitely identified.
She knew chamomile, too. The pretty flowers made for great tea when they were all dried out and she'd had said tea enough times to KNOW that she was seeing chamomile before her.
Moving around the table, trying very hard not to get in the way of her classmates, Cecelia noticed what COULD be dittany in the bunch of herbs before her. They used it a LOT at their house, 'specially when she was small and running around as FAST as she could, scraping up her knees and elbows a BUNCH of the time. It always helped, not as much as a hug from mum and dad, but ALMOST as much.
Hmm..
Sniffing once, twice, three times, Cecelia noticed that it was harder to distinguish one smell from another the longer she stood where she was. Mostly the mix of smells made her nose itch and she wrinkled it, thankful she wasn't allergic. It seemed like a recipe for sneeze attacks for someone who was.
Was that....peppermint, maybe? Cecelia looked around, wondering if anyone else was smelling it, TOO. She liked peppermint hot chocolate AND peppermint candies, too, and though she didn't KNOW exactly which leaves were giving off the odor, she KNEW it was there. Did that count as identifying it? ...Maybe. She'd just check in her textbook in a FEW, she was simply having more fun trying to figure the herbs out WITHOUT one for right now.
The first year paused in her efforts to scribble down some identifiers in her notes, deciding that it wasn't AS important to identify ALL the herbs as it was to be CERTAIN of the few she knew.
SPOILER!!: Notes!
Herb List:
1. Lavender- Strong scent, purple and green coloring
2. Chamomile- Yellow, green, some white coloring
3. Dittany- dark green and round-ish leaves
4. Peppermint- Strong, pleasant scent
Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
SPOILER!!: Tegz!Quotz
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegz
"Alright, you all seem to have gathered that the Three Druidic Elements can be applied to the life cycle of the plants, but we can map these elements very literally to a garden with a spiral design. Nwyfre is represented by the spiral shape as a whole, as well as the care and conscious planning we put into the design of the garden, and our enjoyment of its beauty; calas is represented by the materials used to build the spiral, and by the soil, and also by the plants themselves taking root; and gwyar is represented by the flow of water from the top of the spiral to the bottom, as well as the growth patterns and appropriate placement of the plants within the spiral form. The Three Druidic Elements are interdependent on one another, and apply to any type of garden of course, but the spiral design embodies these concepts in a very substantial way." Professor Beryl said. "I'd like you to keep those things in the back of your mind as we move on, because now I have a little activity for you all." No gardening yet though.
"The herbs and plants you see here on this central table, regardless of if they are a magical plant or a more mundane plant, all have one thing in common: they all have medicinal uses. Some are used in muggle herbal tradition, some are used only by witch and wizardkind, either in their raw form or as ingredients in potions." Professor Beryl began to introduce their task.
"Medicinal herbs and plants are not necessarily safe in their natural form. They can have negative effects if inappropriately handled or ingested," OR, licked. Here's looking at you, Phoebe James. "For instance, some may produce oils on their leaves that could be toxic to the touch, some might have roots that are safe to eat but the berries they produce could put an elephant to sleep, but then there are some that just smell lovely and you can use in your cooking if you like as they won't harm you one bit unless you happen to have an allergy of some kind. Also consider that there are dangerous magical plants which like to disguise themselves as more mundane, safer plants, so you need to be able to identify the differences between them." though no, there was no devils snare masquerading as flitterbloom here today.
"This means that unless you know exactly what a plant is, and how to handle it, you should NOT touch it. As we begin this next activity, nobody should be touching any of the plants. You may smell them, and you may look at them, but unless I tell you directly, you do not touch." And that was a standing rule as well as common sense. And it went for the ones that everyone knew were safe, too.
"So, consider the shapes of the leaves, the colours, the textures you can see, any flowers or fruits, the scents that you can smell. I would like all of you to identify at least ten of the herbs on the table and make notes on how you know what they are. You can use your textbooks to help sleuth out the answers. You can get up and move around now, and then return to your seats when you are done. You can discuss amongst yourselves and work together if you like, or you may work on your own. You've got fifteen minutes."
ooc: This is our mini activity! Under the spoiler cut are the herbs and plants that are definitely on the table (this list is OOC, your character doesn't know!). Your character is tasked with identifying ten of them (they don't have to identify them all!) Note that some of the listed plants are magical/fantastical so you won't find much information for identifying them by googling. Where known I've included the fancy pants Latin names. As the students are allowed to use their textbooks as references, feel free to use teh internets to find information that might help them out. Beyond that, their success (or lack of it!) is up to you. You have approximately 48 hours, but depending how activity is I might add on another day. Any questions feel free to PM me, and you are welcome to address Professor Beryl in your posts too. There's no minimum number of posts - if you want to do the whole lot in one, that's fine, its up to what your preference is.
As an aside, given there's the option of working with others, If you decide you want to work with others, please be mindful and check if anyone is asking for someone to work with before you make a post expecting someone to approach your character - I don't want to see a bunch of posts in a row asking for someone to work with your character! If someone has already asked, have your kid go and work with theirs!
Heavens! So many herbs! Bernadette was TERRIBLY lost in this class so far. Her understanding of gardening pretty much related to the edibles things her mum put in soups and sauces; she had NO CLUE what druid elements were; and she was trying to write as many things as she could on the handouts the professor provided, but she was certain she was going to have to join a study group to make heads (or tails) of this class.
Thankfully, if she failed everything else, she was at least always willing to pull weeds. So, onto the practical portion of class...
"That's lavender," Bernadette announced, doodling a rough sketch of the plant she knew from sight (and smell). It wasn't her favorite, but it certainly was popular here in France. "And... there's... hang on..." She leaned closer to one to give it a sniff, "Yep, that's mint. PEPPERmint? Or spearmint? Well, it's mint." She continued narrating to herself, but wouldn't have minded if she were also helping someone.
Now, was there any basil here? Or... "Sage!" Bernie knew that one too! Her mum had that in her garden, and it was delicious when fried! And nearby it was... hold on, she had to check it... "Yep, lemon balm!" Yummy. She quite liked that with a bit of mint, basil, rosemary, and tomatoes on a salad dressed with olive oil. Oregano could also join the party, but she didn't see it here. Hmm. Was there rosemary here?
There it was! "Rosemary and butter on a steak, yummmmmmm." Bernie was making herself hungry, but she hurriedly added rosemary to list of recognizable herbs. She thought she saw some dittany too, but she wasn't 100% sure because it didn't relate to her main interest in herbs, which was, of course, their edibleness, and it wasn't native to Britain, was it....?
Oh, ginger was an herb? "I thought that was a root or something," she muttered under her breath, nonetheless drawing that one too. That was edible. Everyone should know what ginger looked like even if it didn't have red hair teeehehe.
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yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________ __________________________________________that I can't help from speaking my mind
urine trouble | Pat's Strong Confident Other Half | Pees Like a Champion Unicorn Racehorse
What he was getting from this explanation was that a spiral design was MUCH better because it used all three elements of, uh, Herbology? Gardening? It used those elements. Maybe it was even the best kind of garden design because it used all the elements and something he should be telling his mum about. Maybe.
The activity sounded much better, in his opinion, and much easier to grasp. He just had to identify the plants, yeah? Easy. Another relief, in his opinion. Beryl really wanted them not touching the plants, though, which was going to be difficult to do. And then writing about how he knew what each plant was? What if he just guessed? What then?
No. No no. He was starting. And if he only have fifteen minutes for this, he was going to start with the easiest ones that he could recognise.
Lucas felt oddly embarrassed as he got up from his seat and started walking around the central table, his journal and a quill in his hands. The easiest one to spot? Lavender. It was lavender! It was purple but the leaves were still green and only stayed at the bottom. And in a bush, you could see the green underneath all the purple tips.
And did the Kettleburns have lavender in that huge garden of theirs? He wasn't sure.
Next? He moved around some more, moving past a few that he didn't recognise on the spot. This was supposed to be fast. And he didn't like the look of that red one over there so he was moving swiftly onwa-
Sniff. Sniff!
Was that..... mint? Peppermint?
He sniffed around a bit more, leaning clooooooose to one of the plants. Maybe a little too close when the smell started prickling his nose and making him lean back again. But peppermint. That peppermint smell was coming from somewhere around here. Somewhere....... sniiiiiiff....... right over.......
THERE. That one. That one right there. With leaves that were arranged in, uh, size order? Huh. It was probably not a good time to realise that he'd never really seen peppermint properlu before. Or didn't really pay attention to the plant too much, only the way it tasted in his hot chocolate. Yeaaaaaah, he probably shouldn't write that in his notes.
There was a lot of moving from the fourth year, sometimes even pausing here and there to see if he did recognise a plant, only to shake his head and move on again. He didn't know how long had paused but there was a few moments before he noticed the leaves of a nearby plant. The leaves that looked a LOT similar to the leaves of the peppermint plant.
Was this.....? Was he.......?
Uh. Okay.
Lucas stood there, biting his lower lip as he looked between the two plants. The leaves looked VERY similar. Almost TOO similar. Except....... there was something sharp about these edges. The leaves for the peppermint plant were sharp, yeah, but these looked almost spiky around the edges. And the peppermint leaves were more rounded, weren't they? But the end was much sharper for this one.
He wanted to lean closer, maybe get a better look at it, but there was a part of him that...... didn't want to? The hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand up and he didn't know why? Was this plant dangerous? Did Beryl say that she had dangerous plants in here? Ones that could prick you or poison you or sting-
OH!
Stinging Nettle! This was stinging nettle, right?
Yeah, he was moving AWAY.
There was a small frown to his face as he started walking quickly, and then slowly away from the stinging nettle. It was difficult not to notice other similar-looking plants, even from a distance. Unless he was walking around the table too many times, because even some of the flowers were starting to look similar too. All the colours stood out against the green of the stems and leaves, which was why he was trying very hard to concentrate on those and only those.
His green eyes landed on a...... plant. A white-pink looking plant that he was sure he recognised, but not from gardening, from somewhere else, this time. Lucas instinctively shuffled closer to it, his eyes focused on the pink-white of the flowers and the bunches that formed and......
....... he smiled.
This was used in potions, right? Not scurvy grass, the other one. Va...... valerian? Valerian! That had to be it! Which meant that scurvy grass had to be somewhere around here as well. A similar-looking flower - uh, well, nearly - but in white. That's what he was looking for, a whiter looking flower that had a similar shape and a green centre to it and maybe fewer petals per-
Oh! Found it! There was a quick pause as the Gryffindor started writing his notes down, a little awkwardly because of the way he was trying to keep the journal held up. But that didn't matter because he had five already.
Text Cut: Notes
- Lavender:
It's lavender? I mean, you can notice it anywhere. It's purple and the flowers are small and at the end. It smells calming, like lavender should. I'm sure my neighbours have this in their garden.
- Peppermint:
You can smell peppermint from a mile away. Everyone has smelt peppermint before, and probably tasted it too. I think the smell is what really made me recognise it because it's so distinct. And I guess the leaves are arranged in size order, where it looks like there are leaves on leaves on leaves.
- Stinging Nettle:
The leaves look very similar to the peppermint ones but they're much sharper and even LOOK like they'll sting you. Even the edges of one leaf are spikier and less rounded than the peppermint ones. Then, there are the hairs on the stem which you shouldn't go near.
DON'T GO CLOSE TO THIS ONE.
- Valerian:
We use these in potions so it's easy to notice. The buds are very pink but the flowers are a white-pink. Mostly pink. They grow in bunches, which makes it easier to collect if you want to use them in potions or for healing. Did you know they're in fudge as well? I didn't know that.
- Scurvy grass:
This one looks very similar to Valerian and is also used in potions but the flowers are white and have a green centre and that's how you can tell them apart. And scurvy grass doesn't really grow in bunches as much as Valerian does. Plus, the leaves almost look like spades, from what I can tell.
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Everyone else was moving so FAST and Phoebe felt like she was plagued by a million papercuts. She couldn't find anything in all these pages, and she wanted to touch the plants so MUCH. She'd know what they were if she could just get close to them and be friends with the shiny leaves. But professor said no.
Phoebe sighed quietly, ruffling the leaves of the plant in front of her. Gray-blue leaves, purple flowers, smelled pungent. And familiar. "You can do this, James. You're not dumb. Or only a little bit dumb." Only non-Ravenclaw in the family, right? She flipped steadily through the pages until one of the pictures looked right to her. Sage. Got it. See how not dumb she was?
And next to that was that planter of mint she'd tried to lick, which meant the one that looked like mint but smelled like lemons was lemon balm. So that was four now, and that wasn't shameful. What else what else what else?
Using her nose as a guide seemed to be serving her well, but Phoebe kept with the book. If they were talking common herbs, there was thyme, rue, and watercress. And those daisies weren't really daisies. Which were the ones that looked like daisies and smelled like tea? Oh! Tea! Chamomile. Phobe scribbled her answers, complete with little labeled sketches (the sketches were neat, the labels were not) before turning a grin toward the professor. Did she see how smart Phoebe was at this?
curly haired prefect - "sometimes I get angry!" - 30/90 - *chicken emoji* - probably @ Disney - I speak dog
Oooh, plant identification! This would be an EXCELLENT refresher for OWL studying! Naturally, Nettie jumped up as soon as Beryl released them to start the mini activity, grabbing her notebook and heading to the first plant that caught her eye and getting started.
She paused and eyed the plant, taking note of the shape of the leaves and how large it was. The leaves had a sort of jagged edge, and they were on the smaller end. They kind of reminded her of some sort of cooking herb...she leaned in and carefully took a whiff. Yup, that was peppermint alright. She took out her notebook and began to scribble notes on that plant in the first column of her notes.
The next one was extremely easy to identify. Ginger root wasn't something she saw much in the kitchen now that she didn't live with her mum (her dad was NOT a cook by any stretch of the imagination). Still, the root was obvious, as was the coloring. The one next to it looked a bit like the peppermint, but she leaned in and saw lots of tiny little prickly things sticking out of the leaves of this plant. Hmmm, that rang a bell...but what was it? She paused and took out her notes from medicinal herbs and flipped through it a few times. OH! Stinging nettle! That's right, like her name! She remembered now why the name of the plant had been nagging at her when she recognized the little bristles on the leaves.
The next plant was hard for her to identify at first. It looked like long, slender grass at first, until she noticed a small little flower blooming at the back of the plant. That made it easier to pick it out, but she still had to consult her notes. She took a look at all her notes and finally picked out the one with a yellow bloom - star grass. That would explain why it had initially looked like...grass.
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I'm still standin'________________________________________ better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor_________________________________feelin' like a little kid
Oh no. Gemma knew she was going to be rubbish at this. She could do this. She wasn't dumb but only have 15 minutes to identify these herbs. Nope nope nope. Her brain had suddenly shut down. But there was no time to waste! She scooped out one she was familiar with.
It smelled like her toothpaste. Peppermint. See! One down. Only nine more to go...
She quickly moved on to another plant. This one was purple. Oh another easy one. This one was lavender. She knew this because of the color obviously and the tell-tale smell. Lavender scents were everywhere. Her mother would have incense of lavender around the house.
This one was different looking. It had bigger leaves with red stems and green balls on the end? It seemed familiar but the name was escaping her at the moment. It also had medicinal benefits, right? Something about insomnia or anxiety... Snakeroot! Gemma knew it was snakeroot but it also came from somewhere else. Asia? No. That didn't sound correct. India! Nailed it. The next one she found was fairly easy. Chamomile tea was her favorite and knew the scent well.
Oh! Marigolds.
No no. That couldn't be correct. Marigolds were flowers but Beryl had said herbs. These did look very similar to marigolds though... Sighing, Gemma flipped through her textbook trying to find what the plant was called. Calendula. So it was related to marigolds.
5 down. 5 to go.
Gemma stopped to look at some plants who weren't doing well. They were all droopy... Maybe they needed water? Seeing as her book was already out and open she searched for this sad, little plant.
SPOILER!!: Notes
1. Peppermint- Smells like my toothpaste! It's a very strong and pleasant smell. The leaves are usually fuzzy.
2. Lavender- Cute purple flowers! Pleasant smell with a lot of medicinal benefits.
3. Indian Snakeroot- Weird looking plant. Red stems & green bobbles on top. Good for anxiety and insomnia
4. Chamomile- Tea time baby!
5. Calendula- Fake marigolds. Pretty orange flowers.
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Last edited by malfoygrl; 09-09-2019 at 02:36 AM.
Reason: oops had to fix the spoiler
Gunnar was uncharacteristically quiet during this Herbology lesson, though that was more likely due to the amount of information presented and he therefore wanted to consume and process than being overly tired and grumpy dealing with the broom closet situation. Being a NEWT level Herbology student and intending on studying it at university, the Slytherin was careful to note everything Professor Beryl said and included on the board, as well as read over his handout. Although he had been initially surprised that his previous Ancient Runes professor would now be teaching him Herbology, he wasn't at all surprised that she continued to teach her class with the same level of detailed information.
He was somewhat familiar with the concept of permaculture as ecological balance and sustainability were subjects he was very interested in, but he wasn't so familiar with how druidic elements related. But at least he had plenty to read about it and was quite eager to learn.
And although he had been a little more passive in his participation up until this point with his note taking rather than contributing to discussion, Gunnar immediately got up from his seat with his plant journal in hand to identify some herbs. He certainly did not need to work with anyone. But there were a handful that he was willing to work with, but only if they wanted to. He wasn't seeking anyone out.
The first plant he approached looked quite familiar - medium-sized green leaves with slightly jagged edges and the face of the leaf appearing somewhat textured. The way the leaves looked and grew, symmetrically in groups of four and six, would make him think of mint. But moving a little closer, Gunnar did not catch the scent of mint. Instead, inhaling close to the plant, it smelled more like lemon. Lemon Balm then? He knew them to be part of the mint family. He jotted down some notes in his journal along with a quick, very rough sketch.
Moving on, Gunnar saw the next plant was fern-like in appearance, yet had the hint of a silver sheen to its green leaves. Silverweed? He bent down to get a look at the underside of the leaf groups and nodded to himself as the plant was even more silver there. That's what it had to be, and again, he added some notes and a hasty drawing to his journal.
Observing the leaves of the next plant, he noticed that they were smooth, elongated, and rounded. There were also a few yellow blossoms beginning to open at the tops of some of the stalks of leaves. Catching something of a musty scent as he peered a little closer, he was sure this was rue.
Oh. There were coneflowers on the table. They had caught Gunnar's eye before he had gotten a chance to write any notes about the rue. They had some of the purple daisy flowered plants at home in his family's greenhouse. Echinacea, yeah that's what they were also called. He paused to write down their description as well as that of rue, since he had inadvertently skipped that one.
And moving on, sage was pretty easy for the Slytherin to recognize. Another herb they had at home, both growing and cultivating to use in cooking. These leaves also were silvery - though probably more grey, but also a little furry. Not that Gunnar touched them right then. But he knew them to be, and their appearance conveyed that as well.
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started like a knight in a fairytale_______________________________________________
ended like a moth in flames______________________ ______________________don't you worry I'll be fine _________________________________________________you were good for the plot line
If he was bothered about getting all ten of these done in the allotted timeframe, Kaiser probably would have skipped the Relatably Depressed Flowers herb and moved onto something that was a bit quicker to figure out. But he doubted Professor Beryl would be terribly upset about anyone not getting the full ten written down, so he didn't concern himself overmuch.
Though, come to think of it, he probably wouldn't have concerned himself very much if he'd had a professor who would have minded, but that was neither here nor there.
It took a good few minutes to finally find the right herb in his book, but he knew he was not mistaken. Comfrey was very clearly described in his textbook, right down to the violet drooping flowers. He made a note of it quickly, his writing becoming steadily more illegible as he went.
How long did he have left? Kaiser had no idea, not being in possession of a watch. He looked around the greenhouse for a clock, before realising that not having taken note of the time at the start of the activity would make it quite difficult to know when fifteen minutes had passed.
No big deal. He'd just keep going until it was time to stop.
Circling the table a little more, Kaiser tried to find another plant that looked distinct and familiar, but his head was getting fuzzy. Even fuzzier than dittany leaves. Whether or not he had seen some of these herbs before, they all looked so similar that they may as well all have been the same one.
Apart from, you know, that one with the huge orange flowers. Well. It wasn't familiar, but it was certainly distinct. It would do. Kaiser flipped through the pages again, but it took him a moment or two to realise that he was going through the textbook without really looking. He stopped, went back to the beginning of the section, and started his search again.
Big orange flowers. Big orange flowers. Big orange... aha. He'd found it. Calendula. That had to be the one, right? He added it to the list.
Well, six wasn't bad. Some people already seemed like they were finished, but Kaiser was very pointedly not looking in their direction. Instead he tried to decide if he could squeeze a couple more of these herbs onto his list, or if it was time to give up and let his exhausted brain (and eyes) rest for a moment. He was leaning towards the latter.
SPOILER!!: Notes
Rue - yellow flowers, blue green leaves
Lavender - it smells like lavender
Dittany - round and fuzzy leaves
Lovage - pointy leaves
Comfrey - sad purple flowers
Calendula - big orange flowers
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
At least they were moving on to an activity - Avalon's hand was starting to cramp up from writing so many notes. Professor Beryl sure had a lot of information to impart during today's lesson. She noticed a few students immediately writing down the plants and herbs they had identified by sight alone, and the second year tried not to panic. Avalon wasn't too familiar with magical plants. At least she could use her textbook for help.
The only two she could identify just by looking were lavender and dittany. The narrow purple leaves were a dead giveaway for the former, and a brief sniff confirmed her suspicions. And she had used dittany several times in Potions class. Avalon leaned her nose over a few more plants, inhaling deeply to try and identify them. Okay, so the one with the serrated leaves had to be mint, and the one with the tiny white flowers was definitely chamomile. They smelled too much like her grandmother's favorite teas to be anything else.
She was thankful that she had spent a good bit of time preparing suppers with her mother over the summer, because she was also able to identify two popular cooking herbs, rosemary and thyme. Avalon flipped through her textbook, trying to match any of the descriptions of magical plants to the herbs in front of her. Six down, four to go.
SPOILER!!: Parchment
lavender - distinctive smell, narrow purple flowers
dittany - rounded leaves, familiar from Potions
chamomile - flowers that look like daisies, sweet & relaxing smell
peppermint - serrated leaves, dark green, smells like toothpaste
rosemary - long stems with pine-like needles
thyme - small grey-ish leaves, spicy but fresh smell
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Herbology Lesson 1: Herb Spirals 
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