The Mound Lily is the name of a rare and unusual species of flower which can be found only in the remote patches of wetland between Lubec and Gryttrheim. Frequently sought for its various medicinal properties, the Mound Lily has been known to fetch a high price throughout the continent of Crestfall.
The flower is named for the unusual symbiotic survival tactic it has developed alongside another plant species native to the region: in order to endure the harsh cold weather of the Northern wetlands, the Mound Lily only blooms within the stomach cavity of the hulking plant monster known as a Shambling Mound.
Biology and Life Cycle
The Mound Lily is a pale white flower with a dark green stem, consisting of 4-6 petals and up to 3 long, pale white stamen with blood-red tips. The stem of the flower is covered in a layer of incredibly fine barblike thorns which have been known to cause irritation in most humanoid creatures if handled without proper equipment; for reasons not fully understood by modern biology, tabaxi and kenku appear to be the only species unaffected by the stem's irritant thorns.
If exposed to the cold air of the Northern wetlands in which it resides, the fragile Mound Lily would freeze to death in a matter of hours; to circumvent this issue, the Lily has developed a symbiotic relationship in which it grows within the stomach cavity of a Shambling Mound, using the larger plant's thick vegetation as insulation against the cold. In exchange, the Lily's roots absorb and filter out pollutants which would be harmful to the Shambling Mound's digestion; this ability remove toxins and other pollutants is also the main reason why the Mound Lily is coveted for its medicinal properties.
The Mound Lily receives pollination from beetles and other insects which similarly nest inside of the Mound's stomach for warmth, flying from one host mouth to another in the warmer season to aid in the Lily's reproductive process. With no sunlight within the Mound's stomach, the Lily has adapted to be partially carnivorous, receiving nourishment from the blood and marrow of creatures swallowed and killed by the Mound.
Harvesting a Lily
Given their value as a medicinal ingredient, one would assume that harvesting a Mound Lily would simply be a matter of killing the Shambling Mound that serves as its host; while this act alone is easier said than done, there is one other complication to this course of action: as a byproduct of its symbiotic relationship with its Shambling Mound host, a Mound Lily immediately withers and dies if the Shambling Mound is slain, meaning the only way to harvest an intact and usable Lily is to attempt to do so while the Shambling Mound is still alive.
It is because of this complication in the process that Mound Lilies are so prized, as all but the most foolhardy adventurer would never dream of diving headfirst into a Shambling Mound's open maw. For those who do attempt such a feat and live to tell about it afterwards, they can expect to receive a tidy profit from their efforts from any alchemist, physician or black-market botanist.
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