Name: White Asphodel (Asphodelus albus) Size: 50-120 cm in height. Colour: The Asphodel most commonly used in magical applications is the White Asphodel (Asphodelus Albus), with white flowers with six elongated petals. Another common magical asphocel is Branched Asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus), with yellow blossoms. Location: Commonly found in the meadows of Central Spain, southwest France, and the southern Alps. It can also be found in Libya, but is less common there. Variations: The family Asphodelaceae includes many related flowering plants, and any of these may be referred to by the common name Asphodel. It is best to proceed with caution when experimenting with potions involving Asphodel, until use of the correct Asphodel has been determined. Either White or Branched Asphodels may be intended, and the substitution of one for another may require brewing adjustments or unintended side effects.
Suggested Magical Use(s): Asphodel is one of the key ingredients in the Draught of Living Death. Potions recipes have been found using both White or Branched Asphodel, but the Branched variations are consistently longer acting and inflict more permanent conditions. White asphodel Draughts cause only a deep sleep, while Branched Asphodel Draughts induce a true "living death" which may last for years. Thus Branched Asphodel is classed as a restricted substance by the ministry, and its usage strictly regulated.
Author's Note(s): In Muggle mythology, Asphodel was the favorite food of the dead. The Asphodel Meadows were a section of the afterlife where the souls of those who lived lives of near equal good and evil spent their eternity. It was an area of utter neutrality, where the dead continue on in their uninteresting monotony of their lives even in death. This fragment of muggle legend shows a curious parallel to its magical purposes, and suggests that Muggles may have been aware of Asphodel's magical properties at some time in their history.
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Size: 50-120 cm in height.
Colour: The Asphodel most commonly used in magical applications is the White Asphodel (Asphodelus Albus), with white flowers with six elongated petals. Another common magical asphocel is Branched Asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus), with yellow blossoms.
Location: Commonly found in the meadows of Central Spain, southwest France, and the southern Alps. It can also be found in Libya, but is less common there.
Variations: The family Asphodelaceae includes many related flowering plants, and any of these may be referred to by the common name Asphodel. It is best to proceed with caution when experimenting with potions involving Asphodel, until use of the correct Asphodel has been determined. Either White or Branched Asphodels may be intended, and the substitution of one for another may require brewing adjustments or unintended side effects.
Suggested Magical Use(s): Asphodel is one of the key ingredients in the Draught of Living Death. Potions recipes have been found using both White or Branched Asphodel, but the Branched variations are consistently longer acting and inflict more permanent conditions. White asphodel Draughts cause only a deep sleep, while Branched Asphodel Draughts induce a true "living death" which may last for years. Thus Branched Asphodel is classed as a restricted substance by the ministry, and its usage strictly regulated.
Author's Note(s): In Muggle mythology, Asphodel was the favorite food of the dead. The Asphodel Meadows were a section of the afterlife where the souls of those who lived lives of near equal good and evil spent their eternity. It was an area of utter neutrality, where the dead continue on in their uninteresting monotony of their lives even in death. This fragment of muggle legend shows a curious parallel to its magical purposes, and suggests that Muggles may have been aware of Asphodel's magical properties at some time in their history.
Image:
Kimberly//Ravenclaw