Cassious Thistle
Cassious thistle, also known as cassious plant or cass leaf, is believed to have gone extinct about 800 years before the end of the age of adventuring but has persisted as a symbol for healers and alchemy to the modern day. Alchemists who created healing potions often advertised such by having a symbol of two mature cassious thistle leaves as a part of their signage, which was eventually adopted by clerics who provided healing services. It soon became shorthand for Get Patched Up Here. In the modern day it still serves this purpose but is most prominently displayed on traditional potion shop signage as a way to say they perform alchemy in general.
Pictured: The traditional image of the cassious thistle, used to signify the availability of healing potions, healing magic, and/or alchemist services.
The cassious thistle had very few leaves, between two and five trending toward the fewest, and two massive spines at the bottom. The leaves were edged in spine-like growths that became brittle when dried. The root would grow fairly deep but eventually begin to spread out further rather than dig deeper. A Cassious Thistle in sandy soil that had bloomed and wilted over many seasons could spread its root system over several yards.
Pictured: A dried specimen of a single leaf and a thick-root from clay-like soil from the MONAM's collection.
Thanks to its relatively widespread and easily reached ranges in comparison to plants with similar properties, cassious thistle became the herb of choice to use as a main ingredient for disinfecting tinctures and healing potions, especially the roots. Thankfully with today's technology many of these other plants can be safely and sustainably cultivated in the thistle's absence but it is a shame to see a species civilization was built on disappear.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
The cassious plant was a healing thistle previously wide-spread in any area without too much shade regardless of rainfall levels, provided it had sunshine and warmth. It could root well in sandy soil or clay, and grew in different girths of primary root w/ longer root spread in looser or more packed soils. Cassious plants on the edge of their range butting up against a swamp were most likely to be rooted in clay or mud and thus had the most bulk, and were the most prized for their use in supreme healing potions. Not being in the woods made it very accessible and led to its over harvesting.
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