Chambermaid Ladybell
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Chambermaid Ladybell
Adenophora Grimsbiceae; Chambermaid Ladybell, Frisbee’s Bellflower
Woody Perennial; Mundane; exhibits nyctinasty
Well above 50ft tall, with blooms 15ft in height
Temperate zones, preferring partial shade. Hardy and easy to propagate.
Blooms from Spring into Summer; dies back in the first frosts of winter
Willow Valley, Grimsby Grove, and the surrounding fields and woodlands
BIOLOGY OVERVIEW
Adenophora Grimsbiceae is a massive wildflower that is commonly propagated along roadsides, and towers over Folk and fauna alike. Named after the Grimsby family, this large plant was discovered on the first sojourn to find shelter that led to the founding of Grimsby Grove, and it's said that Frisbee Grimsby, the leader of the refugees of Aurora Forest, utilized the massive blossoms of this plant as temporary shelter after observing wild mobbits and kibbees doing the same.
The seed of the plant is about the same size as a cherry, round and a rich reddish-brown in color. Once planted, Adenophora Grimsbiceae sprouts. In its first year of life the plant focuses on growing its roots and growing upwards- during the spring thaw on the second year of the plant’s lifespan, Adenophora Grimssbiceae will finally bloom.
The massive, thick-petaled blossoms of Adenophora Grimsbiceae are open during the day but close after dark, and anything inside its roomy blooms is protected until sunrise; the plant has created a symbiotic relationship with many flying or climbing fauna because of this behavior. Small animals will shelter in the flowers of Adenophora Grimsbiceae, keeping them safe from most predators, and in exchange, the flower will be pollinated by those animals later moving on to another plant or blossom.
The Adenophora Grimsbiceae’s pollen is edible, and pseudofruit grow in the center of each blossom. The pseudofruit contains the plant’s seeds when the plant is in its seeding stage. While its stems and leaves are not typically edible by Folk, its roots can be stewed and have a sweet taste - though, typically, it’s more useful as shelter than as food, so Adenophora Grimsbiceae is not typically considered an “eating plant” or crop.
COMMON USES
USED FOR
Shelter
The old lune’s tale of Frisbee Grimsby and her refugees taking shelter in the Chambermaid Ladybell is generally regarded as true, and to this day Folk can still find a reliable place to rest in the massive blooms of this plant during the warm season. Mobbits, Kibbees, and sometimes even small wayward Dynabyx and other similarly sized fauna can be found in these blossoms and wandering between plants during the day. If one discovers a Kibbee in the plant in the morning, the Kibbee can be followed back to Grimsby Grove, and Mobbits and other fauna found in the blossoms can sometimes be followed to other Chambermaid Ladybell plants.
The Chambermaid Ladybell is safe shelter in an unsafe world, and the Adventurers Guild consider this hardy plant an important extension of their efforts to explore and make safe the wild around Grimsby Grove. It’s common practice for Guild members to harvest seeding Ladybell fruit and plant them in new places throughout their adventures. Within a few years, that seed will become a new hub of activity for the creatures that use the Ladybell flowers for shelter.
HISTORIC AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCES
fortune, platonic love, “I will protect you”
Because Chambermaid Ladybell flowers are so fucking huge, they are not usually presented in bouquets, but they are often included in Folk art as symbols all the same. Sometimes, very… enthusiastic Folk seeking to propose starting a family with their significant others will pay to import Ladybell blooms at the end of the blooming season before they wither and fade to use them to build a nest. The thick petals of the Ladybell can also be harvested, dried, and powdered to make a fragrant, pigmented powder to use during the Prismatic Promenade’s celebrations of color.
The ritual of planting new ladybells is considered sacred amongst folk, and heroes of many great myths and tales plant them as a symbol of that hero’s goodwill and charitability. If a team of folk contains a gravekeeper, it will be the gravekeeper’s task to till the soil for the ladybell seed to be planted.
While the ladybell’s fruit are not cultivated, sometimes they’ll be pitted and brought home by adventuring parents after long trips for their kits to try.