Herbology Lesson 7
Year one, Lesson 6, Fundamentals for flora: Groundwork

W.H.I.P.S classes
Whips stands for Wizarding Herbs with irritating or perilous specialties, and is a class system to categorize the different danger plants can form. There are six classes:

Class A: Odorous
An odorous plant can mean it's smelly, but also that it releases poisonuous gas. Use a mask with extra charms or the bubble head charm to prevent premature death.

Level 1

This is the most severe level. The powder or gas these plants release will choke and kill you within minutes. An example of a plant in this class is Hagweed, whose pollen will asphixiate you (asphixiate means you can't breathe). Mandrakes are also put in this class (eventhough they don't have pollen/gas, but soundwaves), because of the severity of their effect.

Level 2 

This level is slightly less dangerous and will not cause immediate death, but will be harmful on a long term basis. An example is Smogwood/Cornus Impuritas, a plant that exudes toxic substances. The toxic substances will make you feel ill, but if you leave the greenhouse, the symptoms shuld disappear.

Level 3

This is the mildest class of odorous plants. There can be 3 effects of plants in this class:
-paralysis
-confusion and disorientation
-sleep
An example of a plant is the Spider flower, if you breathe in some of it's pollen, you will immediately be paralysed and vulnerable.

Class B: Physically aggresive

These plants can try to harm you physically. An example is the devils snare, a carnivorous (meat eating) plant which will try to capture and eat you. Other ways to physically harm you are by biting. The Fanged geranium has sharp teeth that will inject a poison into the bite. When working with these plants, dragonhide gloves are a must!
Some plants don't bite, but have very sharp leaves, like the spike bush that will shoot spikes at you (use a shield charm when harvesting). 

Class C: Toxic

This class also contains non-magical plants, as all plants are toxic in the right (wrong) amounts. There are four levels of toxicity, level 1 plants can be used and consumed and only harmful in large amounts, whereas level 4 plants can cause immediate damage through contact with the skin.

There are two types of toxic plants:

Venomous and poisonous plants. Venomous plants inject toxin with hairs, stings, needles or fangs, an example of this is the venomous tentacula. Poisonous plants are either covered in toxin or contains a toxin, and example of this is the Belladonna. Use dragonhide gloves for both!

Class D: Infectious

This class come with two types: Naturally infectious plants and diseased plants. A naturally infectius plant is the coughagus ivy, which will cause symptoms of the common cold if you come too close. 

Class E: Burning

These pants have strong acid or bases in them, causing them to wear though skin/fur/material and cause burns. Some of these plants won't even be stopped by dragonhide gloves. An example is the fire seed bush, which will burn with a chemical fire. Freezing cold plants can also cause burns, an example of this is the arctic aloe.

Class F: Reactive

Some plants are reactive, meaning they can reactive when confronted with certain circumstances. An example of this is the Gunpowder Gloriosa, which will explode when it comes in contact with sunlight.