HERB-401 Lessons

 Year Four, Lesson Four 
Professions and Plants

Introduction
Welcome, one and all. Today will be a plant-packed lesson to make up for the lack in the last few! I hope you’re ready to add quite a few more herbs to your mental greenhouse! The plants we are focusing on today are connected in that they are all plants that are commonly used or grown by potioneers. This means there is quite a range, from poisons to cures for the common cold. There are also a few that are catch-alls that have a wide range of potion uses and that no potioneer should be without. You may remember that Professor Draekon covered numerous excellent plants to keep in a well-stocked potions cabinet last year, and these still are excellent herbs too. I couldn’t hoard all the good plants for Year Four Herbology, after all! Therefore, this lesson will be more of a “big brother” to what was covered in Potions and include some more complicated or dangerous must-haves for any potioneer. 

Betony
Now, before we get into betony, I must quickly address a misconception in case any of you are from the United States or have family from there. There are two separate groups of plants known commonly as betony, one here in Europe and one in North America. The plant we will be talking about today is the former. It has long been used in medical traditions and was one of the nine most useful herbs to both Anglo-Saxon witches and wizards and practitioners in ancient Egypt. Rightfully so, as it is incredibly useful in many ways. 

Also known as bishopwort, hedgenettle, or wood betony, Stachys officinalis is a perennial that grows between one and two feet tall in Europe, as well as parts of Asia and Africa. Its flowers are a striking purple and accompanied by vivid green foliage. It can grow in anything from full sun to partial shade and prefers acidic soil between 5.5 and 7.0 on the pH scale. Betony should be watered regularly so that the soil is moist, but not in excess. You don’t want soggy soil that has water floating on the surface! It flowers from July into August and is best harvested before then, unless your goal is to collect the flowers.

Betony, in comparison to some of the other plants we will discuss today, is rather easy to maintain and has many benefits and uses. First of all, it is an active ingredient in many potions to help with respiratory issues, such as allergies, asthma, and bronchitis. Primarily the leaves are used for this purpose. Occasionally, you will see stems or roots as substitutes, but these are largely thought to be inferior, at least for this effect. The flowers enjoy use in potions to relieve nerve pain and even in a complicated recipe I mentioned back in Year One, which details an archaic cure for hydrophobia. There have been preliminary studies that indicate the flowers can also be used for stress and anxiety, but so far, all trials have resulted in problematic side effects including a constantly runny nose.

Chinese Chomping Cabbage
Our second plant of the day certainly falls into the second of those two categories. The Chinese Chomping Cabbage, or Brassica mastica, is native to many parts of Southwestern Asia, though originally hails from China. While it’s highly prized both in its native area and abroad, as one might imagine, attempting to care for or harvest such a toothy plant poses some serious problems. 

In reality, this plant’s toothiness is most often used as a defense mechanism, as the plant can gobble up any pests that come to make a meal of it. However, it does not distinguish between pest, carer, or stranger, and even attempting to water it can be perilous. Fortunately, this plant does not have a toxic bite, but its jaw is quite strong and can do some serious damage. 

When caring for this plant or attempting to harvest it, it is highly recommended that you wear dragonhide gloves to ensure the cabbage does not break the skin. However, many find the pressure of the bite alone to be rather unpleasant and take further precautions, such as the Stunning Spell or Immobulus Charm. Be aware, though, that Chinese Chomping Cabbages that have been subjected to multiple casts of these enchantments often develop a strong, unpleasant taste and aroma, which pervades any potion in which they are used. In most situations, simply keeping aware of where the cabbage’s mouth is and keeping a safe distance is enough precaution. They are not very mobile -- they can only rotate themselves slightly -- and thus their jaws can be easily avoided. Additionally, the Chomping Cabbage can be distracted quite thoroughly if its mouth is full; it will not spit out what it is eating in order to bite. Therefore, some herbologists feed their Chinese Chomping Cabbages carrots or other tough, crunchy vegetables to keep them busy while tending to them. This has the surprising added bonus of serving as a sort of fertilizer. 

On the topic of tending, this biennial much prefers full sun and a soil pH around 6.5 to 7.0, though it can tolerate soil slightly outside of this range and a little less sun. The plant also needs regular daily watering, especially if it is in a warm environment. If you are successful, a fully mature Chomping Cabbage will grow to roughly 20 inches tall with a circumference of five inches and should have a rich, dark green color. If your plant looks rather pale, this may be an indication that it is not getting enough sunlight and that the potency may be affected.

The leaves of this vegetable have many uses, which is why it is grown so often despite its nasty bite. In the rather extensive list of benefits, it is used in preparations and potions to manage heart problems, weight, and digestive issues. When mixed just right with certain other ingredients, it also works to great effect in Skele-Gro and the Pimple-Popping Potion. 

To use the plant in any of the above remedies, you will need to carefully cut the cabbage lengthwise, discarding the teeth, as they have no known use. However, as all of the mentioned uses call for fresh cabbage, it is important to make your plant last as long as possible, which means not cutting open your Chomping Cabbage until absolutely necessary. It is possible to store it while fresh, though it’s best to keep it in a very cold environment in order to slow its response time and avoid bites. In addition, the same precautions and magical tools mentioned in Lesson Two of this year can also be used.

Digitalis
Also known as foxglove, dead man's bells, witches’ fingers, and goblin gloves, this biennial herb grows natively in Europe, Asia, and the northern parts of Africa. Its color varies as much as its name and can be any shade from white to pink, red, or purple, and its flowers typically blossom during the summer months of June and July. It thrives in acidic soil and partial sunlight to deep shade, which is often found in open woods, though it can grow in a variety of locales. When watering foxglove, make sure to keep its soil constantly moist, but don’t drown it or make the soil too soggy! 

Because this plant is so highly toxic -- a three on the W.H.I.P.S. toxicity scale -- it is quite dangerous to care for and harvest. Much like aconite, simple skin-to-plant contact with Digitalis purpurea can cause issues like skin irritation and minor poisoning, so be sure to don your dragonhide while dealing with this plant. Also much like aconite, this plant’s poison can cause heart issues, nausea, and dizziness, with the added, unique bonus of yellowed vision. 

However, despite its poisonous nature, the plant is frequently used for a cornucopia of ailments. For starters, in the right preparations, the flowers can be used to treat heart failure instead of cause it. In fact, this plant helps with a wide array of heart-related ailments in a wide range of potions and herbal preparations. More afield, it has obviously been used for more sinister purposes as well over the years, particularly in medieval times, when it was involved in more than one nefarious brew and vengeful dark ritual. But it’s not all doom and gloom! This ingredient is used in a number of more whimsical elixirs, such as the Pompion Potion and the Nose-Shriveling Nip.

Storage of this plant is no different from any other, dried or fresh, though do take care to label well to avoid fatal mistakes, as it has often been confused with various species of borage!

Lavender
Now, I see some of you raising your hand. Yes, yes, I know this is cheating a bit. Professor Draekon very thoroughly covered lavender oil with you last year. However, lavender has been an important herb in many different kinds of preparations for millennia. It has been made into oils, true, but also teas, potions, herbal preparations, and even gaseous preparations to be inhaled. However, some of this wide usage is because the plant called lavender is actually an entire genus of similar plants, Lavandula. The most common species is Lavandula angustifolia, which, although quite prevalent in modern-day England, is not native here. It is actually endemic to the Mediterranean and has come to be cultivated worldwide.

Lavender flourishes best in dry, well-drained, sandy, or gravelly soils with a pH of 6.7 to 7.3. It is also best to place them in full sun and make sure they have appropriate drainage so they do not get overwatered. However, it is worth noting that lavender grows quite easily. So easily, in fact, that it is invasive in parts of Australia and is undesirable even in its native habitat in Spain. 

While there are many types of lavender - some shrubs, some annuals, some biennials - Lavandula angustifolia is a perennial shrub that grows roughly one to three feet high and dies off in the winter before returning in the spring and blooming in the summer. There is some variation in color, the flowers spanning numerous shades of blue and purple, as well as yellow on occasion.

Its uses, even speaking about just one single type of lavender, are too numerous to list here without this lesson turning into an encyclopedia. However, I can attempt to touch on the most important, interesting, and frequent. To start, as you will learn later on in Potions this year, very often the plant is used in potions to modify taste and/or smell. Unsurprisingly, it is also used in various foods and beverages for culinary purposes because of its appealing taste. But it’s more than just a pretty smelling plant. Lavender can be used to great effect in potions to reduce hyperactivity, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, and various pains, which may sound familiar to you because of its use in potions like the Sleeping Draught, the Migraine Management Serum, and the Magical Muscle Relaxant. However, this is not all it can do. It has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which are useful in various pain-relieving potions. On an off-kilter note, it can also be utilized in various fire-breathing potions and in Hair-Be-Here!, a common potion for those struggling with bald patches.

Of course, just like anything, if taken in too large a dose, lavender can be dangerous, though all recipes you will learn in your various classes here at Hogwarts should be well within safe margins! You would have to consume quite a lot to be in trouble. In fact, it doesn’t even reach a one on the W.H.I.P.S. toxicity scale. Typically, at worst, it can cause skin irritation among certain persons, so do watch out for that if you happen to notice a rash after tending your plants.

Vanilla
You may not be as familiar with this next plant as you think! Of course you think you know it well because of its wide use as a flavoring agent, but do you really know what it looks like? How to care for it? Let’s test your knowledge. As you can see, vanilla is actually a rather visually stunning plant with yellow flowers and vivid green foliage. The other thing you may quickly notice are the pods hanging down underneath the flower. These are the beans from which we extract the flavor we put in all our foods, beverages, and potions! 

It may come as a surprise, but Vanilla planifolia is part of the orchid family, a group of rather finicky plants. It prefers warm, humid climates and grows in shade, though just a bit of dappled sunlight is preferable. These conditions mimic the warm, tropical forests to which they are native. As for water and soil, the plant prefers a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 and regular watering -- though allow just the top of the soil to dry between watering. As a last requirement, the plant must have something to creep up, whether this is another sturdy plant like a tree or bush, wooden stakes, or perhaps even walls. Your plant, if you let it grow, will reach as high as its surroundings allow, and you may need to fold it down to be able to reach the top or use a little finangling with the Levitation Charm. As I said, quite the finicky plant when all is said and done! 

The history of vanilla is quite interesting as well. Vanilla is native to Mexico and has a symbiotic relationship with insect life there, as they pollinate it and help it grow. Thus, any attempt to cultivate vanilla outside of Mexico failed until Edmond Albius, a wizard, in 1841 developed a spell, Pulationatem, to pollinate the flowers without the need for native insects (and indeed, any insect in any situation). Because of his efforts, today it can be cultivated all over the world -- or at least where you have the right temperature or access to a greenhouse. I will include the information on this spell below, as this is certainly a charm that you should be able to successfully cast this year. However, it is a difficult one to practice, as there is no immediate way to tell if you have succeeded. Patience is the key! This spell can be used on nearly any plant that needs to be pollinated, not just vanilla. The only limitation for spellcasters is the high amount of concentration it requires, as you must focus on not only the plant you want pollinated, but the tiny speck of pollen as well.

Now, why would we want to grow vanilla, other than its various culinary uses? I’m glad you asked! It is believed that vanilla extract helps with various stomach ailments. It is used much like lavender as a flavoring agent in potions that are otherwise unpalatable. However, that is not all. It can also be used in potions to ease the pain of joints and arthritis and it is an active ingredient in potions for beauty, youthfulness, and removing blemishes, as well as an anti-flatulence aid. It can also act as an aphrodisiac in some potions, but Merlin knows we have enough love potion scares without me talking your ears off about the ingredients!

Wild Rice
Quite different from its non-magical counterpart, Oryza silvanus is a rowdy rice kept here in the greenhouses and, as its name suggests, is rather difficult to control. As you can see, it is quite docile-looking right now, but that is because I have a practiced hand at the Containment Charm you learned in your Second Year. It also helps that I keep it well-tended, which makes it much more manageable. This plant is not for the faint of heart! To plant rice from a seed, you must make sure the soil is completely saturated, whether you are growing in the greenhouse beds, a field, or a small container. The formula remains roughly the same. You want to make sure that the first five or six inches of soil are completely saturated with water before planting, so use a heavy hand with Aguamenti. You will likely want to put wild rice in a bed of its own, because few other plants can handle this much water. This annual requires soil that is fairly neutral, ideally with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5, and full sun. Also, as time goes on, make sure that you keep the water level very high, and you will likely need to use dragon dung fertilizer to ensure the rice gets the appropriate nutrients.

The good news is that if you do this correctly, you should be able to see results right away. It grows quite quickly -- almost as quickly as it can run away from you. By the time it is one foot tall, you are at risk of losing your crop unless you have secured it with a Containment Charm. The plant runs by removing its roots and then planting them back down in fractions of a second, leading to many a wild goose chase -- or, shall I say, a wild rice chase. However, the good news is that it is not dangerous or detrimental, despite its prickly personality. The worst you can get is a whack in the face from its seedy fronds. A healthy environment that is well-suited to the plant will minimize the risk that it will take off on you, just in case your charm should falter. 

If the worst should happen and your rice escapes, you can attempt to slow or stun it with the Impediment Jinx or the Stunning Spell. However, this is often damaging to the plant’s health and growth, and therefore some try to avoid it. Quite a few of my colleagues who grow this plant swear by the practice of keeping a broom amongst their plant-tending supplies, though I have fortunately never had need of it!

After all that effort, you will certainly want to utilize your crop, and wild rice definitely packs a potions punch. For starters, it is edible and, in fact, is high in numerous nutrients, oustripping regular rice by a wide margin. However, its most common use is in prank-based potions, as it can bring about many odd effects. For example, it is used in potions to grow extra appendages (whether accidentally or on purpose), the Deafening Draught, potions to turn all of your bodily fluids neon colors, and, my personal favorite, the Haiku Brew. It seems to have an excellent effect on skin conditions and is used in many potions with that medicinal goal.

Closing
Well that was quite the assortment! I hope this lesson has sparked some thoughts about what plants you might like to add to your greenhouse plots. But for now, we must say goodbye; that's all the time we have for today. Other than potentially picking out some of these seeds to start growing in your own plots, there are a few homework assignments: a quiz on the general information covered here, an essay about which of the mentioned plants you find most useful, as well as an extra credit opportunity to research an additional plant that has many potions uses. Class dismissed!

Original lesson written by Professor Liv Rowan
Additional portions written by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, here, here, and here