Tentacula seeds, a Ministry of Magic Class C non-tradeable substance, are dark brown with off-white speckles. Even while in a motionless state, quiet rattling noises are produced by the seeds. This is characteristic of the plant at all stages of life. Nicknames for tentacula in Herbologist circles include "Restless Reedy" and "Tent the Tapper" (in reference to muggle tap dancing). Even under the most stressful of situations, venomous tentacula loves to move. Venomous tentacula enjoys any type of acidic soil, though the lower the pH level the better for the plant to thrive (and fetch a high price in illegal markets). The leaves are the well sought after part of Venomous Tentacula. Depending on the stage of life and quality of care the plant is experiencing, the leaves (and indeed the whole plant) can be either a deep green or a dark purple. Aged, wild, and neglected venomous tentacula all host a shade of purple, while fresh tentacula, or deeply cared for tentacula, will remain a vibrant to darker shade of green. Purple tentacula is not necessarily unhealthy, it is simply not prime for the money market. Dragon dung (a fertilizer, as you will recall from year one) is capable of reviving cuttings of tentacula leaves to a usable state for potions.


There are several uses for Venomous Tentacula, although several of them are often used unintentionally.


For example, the juice from a Venomous Tentacula plant act as a poison (to the point of illness, but not death). If swallowed, the victim will endure the sensation of his or her (usually him, as Ministry records have noted) insides burning. A side effect of this is human skin turning a shade of purple. A notable case of this happening is when wizard Derwent Shimpling ate most of a tentacula plant because of a bet. I do not recommend this. There is no reversal to the changing of skin colour from this plant. First aid in this case would be to swallow a pain-numbing potion. Based on your age and body weight, you would require a Potioneer or Healer to recommend the best one and best dosage. (Any witch or wizard working in hazardous situations should probably talk to their Healer, or a trustworthy Potioneer friend (emphasis on friend) about getting an emergency unbreakable-bottle of their correct anti-suferatus for such situations. It comes in handy. Believe me.


Several dark potions, which I will not name for you, use Venomous Tentacula for a torturous effect. Potions intended for slow painful deaths, long periods of pain without death, and involving bodily maiming, often utilize Venomous Tentacula for the effect of invoking the sensation of having one's insides burning.


Other uses for Venomous Tentacula include dissolving acid. One potion created with Venomous Tentacula leaves is used by Herbologists to lower the pH level of highly alkaline soil. This is why Venomous Tentacula loves high acidic levels in soil… the plant soaks up the acid. In the tentacula life cycle it will recycle the acid for future generations of the plant, but by harvesting only the leaves, and with the additional ingredients in the potion, the pH level of the soil may be permanently lowered. As you will recall from year one, the spell for testing the pH level of the soil is "Acidious Revealious."


Venomous Tentacula poses a danger beyond its venom. The plant enjoys grabbing unsuspecting victims from behind and strangling them. In order to stun the plant, Diffindo may be used (deef-IN-doe). Diffindo will also sever the leaves and stem from where it is attempting to strangle its victim.


Venomous Tentacula occurs in muggle mythology on a more unassuming name… Tentaculum, which was supposed to be easier for muggles to remember. It does not occur very often, and the most notable examples (which aren't very notable) are in Freya Hopka's "Krysti" (about a girl who goes mad after turning purple, because she feels her insides are burning after swallowing a certain plant) and Joe Doepker's "Feeding Sammy" which is about a man who thinks he needs to sacrifice victims to his plant, a Venomous Tentacula, to be strangled. The victims turn purple in his novel not because of the venom, but from lack of oxygen, although wizarding world readers understand the underlying context for that.