Ciliandir

Ciliandir (kee-lee-an-deer) effectively means Cilian's flower. It receives its name from the folk tale hero Cilian, a green dwarf who supposedly discovered the flower. In the story, Cilian is a poor young dwarf who wishes to marry the beautiful Ilana. Ilana returns his feelings, but her wealthy father will not release her dowry unless Cilian can offer her the finest wedding shawl in the land. So Cilian takes his knife, his bow and quiver, his pack and goes deep into the woods in search of an animal whose hide he can use for Ilana's wedding shawl. In the story he comes upon three different animals. Folk in different lands will often tell the tale with different animals. In one popular version he comes upon a goat, a red fox and a white doe. He finds the first two animals fine but not good enough for Ilana and her father's demand. So finally he comes upon a white doe which he thinks will make the finest shawl for Ilana, but once he raises his knife to the beast he can't bring himself to kill it since it is so fare and beautiful. In thanks for sparing her life, the doe leads Cilian to a sunlit glen where strange plants with fluffy white flowers (Ciliandir) grow. The doe soon disappears but Cilian encounters another trio of animals who teach him what the Ciliandir is for and how to produce it. Again the varieties differ by locale, but in the more popular versions, a bison teaches him how to gin the seeds out of the flower, a pair of porcupines teach him how to card the flowers into strands and he indeed picks up the two creatures and uses them to card it, and lastly a spider teaches him how to spin it into yarn. With the finished product Cilian weaves a wedding shawl that is pure white, soft, smooth and durable. Ilana is elated, her father is forced to see the superiority of the shawl, and Cilian and Ilana are married and live happily unto their passing.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Ciliandir is a cotton-like plant, having spreading branches, broad leaves and bolls that burst with a white, fluffy substance.

Genetics and Reproduction

Seeds lay in the center of the fibrous flower inside the boll. The mature plant sheds its boll and the seeds inside the fibrous flower are carried in the wind and fall on the ground, propagating new plants.

Growth Rate & Stages

Ciliandir is a semi-perennial and will regrow once or twice in a year.

Ecology and Habitats

Ciliandir is most often found in warm, bright places in the woods, places where the sun can shine on them.

Additional Information

Domestication

Even though the use of Ciliandir to produce clothing and other products comes from the green dwarves, they are least likely to domesticate the plants, feeling that the wild varieties are purer and finer.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Ciliandir is most regularly used to make clothing. Its puffy flowers create a soft, smooth and strong textile that can be used to produce clothes, bed linens, etc. Among the green dwarves, Ciliandir clothing is only kept for special occasions, say, to wear at feast days or (as in the story) wedding garments. But the Ciliandir is good for more than just cloth. Ciriandir seeds are highly valued as well. They can be fed to cattle, or the oil from them can be used in a variety of uses including cooking and making candles.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Ciliandir can be found in multiple varieties across Nov Matar, though it tends to prefer temperate or subtropical climate.

Scientific Name

Ciliandir