Solo Long Lectures and Hurried Notes

[Okara]

Summer 14, 516 The Opal Temple reception area was beautiful and elegantly decorated like most Konti buildings, however this one was especially so since it was the seat of the Opal Order and Rak’keli’s home. Okara brushed back a piece of white blonde hair that fell in her face as she approached the round reception desk. “Welcome to the Opal Temple, how can we help you?” Merida Zuval, the human receptionist intoned as she had hundreds of other times for hundreds of other visitors. The corner of Okara’s mouth turned in up in the start of a smile, she always liked Merida. “Hi Merida. I’d like to sign up for an herbalism class this season. Are there any spots left?” Okara asked softly. “Certainly, there are always spots left. A season long herbalism class is eight gold mizas. If you are able to afford this rate please sign here confirming you have paid and that you will be respectful with Opal Temple supplies and the teacher’s time.” Merida explained and placed a piece of paper and quill on the desk in front of Okara. Okara counted out the necessary mizas and slid them across the white wood of the desk. She signed the paper quickly and slid it back to Merida. “Thank you, you are all set to go. The herbalism class is taught by Drae Sommers and all supplies will be provided for you. The class is actually meeting out in the gardens right now, why don’t you join them?” Merida suggested. “Oh, alright. Thank you. Have a nice day.” Okara smiled as she bid the receptionist goodbye and made her way out into the Temple courtyard to track down the class. She wandered slowly around the Temple complex until she spotted a group of people seated around one person who was standing and gesturing. As Okara approached, the group fell silent and turned to look at her. “Um, I just signed up for this class today and was suggested I come out here. My apologies for the disruption and lateness.” Okara explained, feeling a little nervous with so many eyes upon her. The standing woman, Drae Sommers, nodded in acceptance of her apology and gestured for her to sit with the rest of the group. “Thank you for joining us. We have just began so you haven’t missed anything but do try to be earlier the next time you come. Now, as I was saying. Knowledge of botany, the study of the biology of plants, is an essential companion to gaining knowledge of herbalism. Today, and in many of the coming days, I will be combining that knowledge into one lesson.” Drae explained. Okara turned as a classmate passed her a thin, blank journal, a quill, and a small ink pot. She noted that all of her classmates were already holding journals or sketchpads and quills or pieces of charcoal, ready to begin drawing or writing anything Drae said. Drae kneeled down and began pointing at a plant as she started her lecture. LedgerSeason Long Herbalism Class -8gm, Blank Book -3gm

[Okara]

“Now this is called a bareberry and is native to Mura. Many useful plants native to Mura have been transplanted around the Opal Temple courtyard to make it easier to collect and use. Now the bareberry grows in clusters in predominantly dry soil so you can often find them near beaches. This bareberry has all the typical parts of a plant. It has a stem, root system, leaves, and it now holds a fruit that resulted from its spring flowers. Let us begin with the stem.” Drae pointed to each part of the plant as she named it. Okara hurried to draw the bareberry plant as quickly as she could on the first page of the journal. A line for the stem, a few oblong shapes for leaves and round shapes for the few red berries hanging off of it. The green eyed Konti did not have much experience drawing and it showed with rough shapes and a few ink smudges. Once she had drawn the plant she labeled the parts with lines pointing to stem, leaves, and fruit. Realizing she had forgotten the root system, she draw a few lines beneath the stem and labeled them. “The type of stem can denote the broad type of plants. There are herbaceous plants and woody plants. There are many other ways of classifying plants but we will start with these simple two. Herbaceous plants either die at the end of their growing cycle, and are called annuals, or their stems die at the end of their growing season and begin to grow again from underground structures that are left behind. Usually this is the root system and these types of herbaceous plants are called perennial. Woody plants have a stem that remains even when the plant is dormant and does not die at the end of the growth cycle. Woody plants are generally trees, bushes, and woody vines. The majority of woody plants are perennial. The bareberry, while it’s stem has a wood like texture, is in fact a herbaceous plant that dies and grows again at the next growth cycle. After the bareberry stem has died at the end of its growth cycle, it can in fact be collected to make a tan dye.” Drae explained, gesturing around the garden at various plants that demonstrated her points. Okara was struggling to write so quickly that her hand began to cramp and she had to stop and stretch it out. She was amazed at how quickly Drae could explain so many concepts. Okara hurriedly wrote the terms she had discussed: herbaceous plant, annual, perennial, woody plant. She wrote the definitions of the terms next then noted the use of the bareberry stem that Drae had slyly snuck into her lecture. Okara realized she had better pay attention to every word Drae said or she would miss out on important information. “Stems serve many purposes for plants. They support the plant structure, they transport water up from the roots, and they store some nutrients. We will get more in depth with stems at a later class. Next, let’s look at leaves.” Drae intoned quickly to finish off her stem lecture. Okara wrote the purposes of the stem below its label with a bullet point next to each written purpose.

[Okara]

“Leaves serve an essential role for plants. They take in the sun’s light and convert it into a source of energy the plant can use through a process called photosynthesis. Leaves can serve other purposes for many different kinds of plants. There are several ways we can classify leaves based on their general appearance. We can classify them by shape, arrangement on the stem, shape of the edge or margin of the leaf, and even by how the veins are distributed. Let’s begin with basic shape and margins.” Drae lectured on and Okara struggled to listen and make accurate notes at the same time. She carefully wrote the purpose of leaves that Drae mentioned under its label on her drawing. At the mention of a new topic Okara flipped the page of her journal and labeled the top of the page Leaves to denote the new subject matter. She watched as Drae held up a leaf and described its shape. Okara wrote and drew quickly to get all of the shapes mentioned down. Acicular - needle shaped Subulate - tapered needle shaped Falcate - hooked shape Palmate - hand shaped Obtuse - round with a blunt tip Ellpitic - oval-shaped Ovate - oval with wider base than tip Linear - Long and slender with pointed tip Lobed - deep margins Lanceolate - Equally tapered at tip and base Orbicular - circular Cordate - Heart shaped Acuminate - Long point at tip Okara rushed to make a small drawing next to each defined leaf shape. Her hand moved carefully to make curves, lines, and corners with the quill without smearing everything she had on the page. Rushing did not help her amateur pictures and by the time she was done she was glad she had written out descriptions of the shapes as well. They would be necessary to understand her humble sketches. Okara looked up as Drae moved on to describing the edges of leaves, or rather their margins as Okara learned was their technical name. As she described each type of margin she passed around an example leaf so the students could see more detail. She bent over her journal to start the next list of terms and definitions. Leaf Margins Entire - smooth edges Serrated - forward pointing teeth like a knife Lobate - shallow indents Crenate - round, mostly even teeth Spiny - stiff points along edge Undulate - wavy edges Okara wrote the lines quickly and was grateful when Drae paused her lecture to allow the students time to study the leaf margin examples. Okara took an extra moment to examine each margin type and attempted to imitate it’s shape with her quill upon the paper. These sketches were also rough but better than what she had been able to draw for the leaf shapes.

[Okara]

“Alright students, stay with it. We have only leaf arrangement left to cover and then we shall move to flowers.” Drae showed them stems and branches of different plants to demonstrate the types of leaf arrangements she described to them. Okara turned the page of her journal with an ink stained finger and titled the next list Leaf Arrangements. Alternate - leaves alternate on the stem Opposite - leaves are paired opposite each other on the stem Odd pinnate - leaves are in opposite pairs with one at the tip of the stem Even pinnate - leaves are in opposite pairs with two leaves at the tip of the stem Whorled - rings of multiple leaves “Alright class, let’s take a moment to describe the morphology of the bareberry leaf from earlier. Does anyone want to take a guess?” Drae gestured at the bareberry plant and looked around at the group. “How about you, our latecomer, Okara?” “Um.. sure. I can do that.” Okara mumbled as Drae looked at her and smiled. Okara starred at the bareberry plant for a moment before answering. “It appears to have an acuminate shape with serrated margins. The leafs have an alternating arrangement on the stem.” “Very good! That is correct. Now the bareberry leaves are very leathery but they can be useful when dried. The dried leaves can be used to make yellow dye or smoked to induce a calming effect..” Drae said and Okara scribbled notes about the leaf uses back on the first page where she was listing the properties of the bareberry. “Now, we move on to flowers. The bareberry we have been using as an example does not have flowers blooming right now but did in the springtime, lovely white ones in fact. They resulted in the red berries you see now. Flowers are the reproductive organs of angiosperm, or seeding-producing, plants and only bloom when the plant is ready to reproduce.” Drae said and began to move into lecture mode with a dry, monotonous voice. Okara moved to a new page in the journal and began scribbling notes, pausing occasionally to re-dip her quill in ink. “The most obvious part of the flower is the petal. Petals come in a variety of colors and shapes. Generally, the purpose of brightly colored petals is to attract pollinators that will carry pollen from one plant to another in order for reproduction to occur. Petals are really just modified leaves, their technical name is corolla.” As Drae droned on Okara jotted notes with steady strokes, getting into a rhythm of writing. The green-eyed Konti paused and looked up as Drae held up a drawing of an enlarged flower. “Here is the corolla and then here are the stamens. They create pollen which is the male reproductive material. Then here in the very center are the carpels which is the female reproductive structure. Oftentimes the carpels are fused which is called a pistil. The parts of the pistil are the stigma, which is here, that part is where the pollen attaches. Then here is the style, which the pollens travels down to here, which is the ovary where the ovules, or female reproductive material is stored. When the pollen and the ovule meet they begin to form a seed.” As Drae reeled off the terms she pointed at each part on the picture. Okara drew the flower parts with quick loops and lines. She carefully wrote labels for the parts and a quick note about their function. Drae quietly held up the drawing for a few chimes while the students hurriedly drew or took notes.

[Okara]

“The petals and berries of the bareberry we have been looking at do not have any notable properties. The flowers are white and beautiful for floral arrangements. The red berries are edible but not particularly tasty, they have a rather dry flavor.” Drae said softly as Okara and the other students worked. One by one the students finished their work and looked up at the teacher expectantly. “Alright, for the last part of class I have a little challenge for you. I have brought several dried samples of leaves from the Medical Library. I would like all of you to attempt to correctly identify the morphology characteristics that we discussed today. All of the leaves we are looking at are from common trees. For every sample you get correct I will tell you the medicinal properties of that tree. Try to guess the name of the tree as well, that part shouldn’t be hard. These are very common trees.” Drae announced the challenge and picked up a wooden case that was wide and thin. Setting the case on the ground she opened it to reveal three different twigs with dried leaves attached. Drae walked to a distant bench to give the students privacy when they delivered their guesses. Okara hurried to get a place around the case to examine the leaves. She knelt down by one its corners so other’s could look over her. The three twigs had paper labels near them with a number listed. Okara looked at the one labeled ONE and examined the leaves. She smiled, recognizing the common oak leaf. Looking back through her terms and descriptions she began to jot down notes about the morphology of the oak leaf. Oak Leaves Lobed shape with lobate margins. Arranged in odd pinnate. Okara double checked her answer against her notes a few times before examining the sample labeled TWO. Drae was right, guessing the tree was the easy part, Okara realized as she noted the willow leaves. She looked to the sample labeled THREE and she recognized the pine needles. She began flipping through her notes again to double check terms before writing her answers for the willow and pine. Willow Leaves Linear shaped leaf with serrated margins. Alternating leaf arrangement. Pine Leaves Acicular leaf shape with entire margins and alternating leaf arrangement Okara finished writing her guesses and carefully stood so she would not bump anyone who was still scribbling away. She blew carefully on the ink so it would dry as she started walking towards Drae on the distant bench. Okara rolled her shoulders a few times as she strolled, not realizing how taxing so much detailed work could be.

[Okara]

“Are you finished? Can I see your answers?” Drae asked in a friendly tone and Okara handed over her journal. Drae inspected her answers for a few moments before nodding and handing the journal back to Okara. “You did well, you must have taken good notes. In fact you are probably going to want to take some notes about the properties of these trees so get ready.” Drae said and Okara quickly opened her journal and unscrewed her ink pot. She dipped her quill in and looked up expectantly at Drae. “Alright, so. First the oak. Oak is always good wood for furniture but it also has some medicinal uses. The bark of the oak tree can be used to make a tea. That tea can treat diarrhea if drank or help out with a sore throat if you gargle it. Oak tea should not be drank frequently as too much can upset the stomach. A poultice of oak leaves can be used to treat bug bites.” Drae listed off the properties and paused as Okara carefully wrote down the properties under an Oak heading. “A tea of willow bark can help with many different ailments. It can reduce fever as well as act as a minor pain reliever. It also helps reduce inflammation. It’s a great way to deal with common complaints of headaches or menstrual cramps as well as more serious issues such as fever.” Drae paused again to allow Okara time to write careful and clear notes about the properties. Like any novice it was the curative aspect of herbalism that excited her most. “And finally the pine tree. Pine cones contain small nuts that are edible and a great garnish for meals. A tea made of the bark can be used as an expectorant or soaked in alcohol to make a concentrated tincture for chest colds. Pine needles can also be made into a tea that can help those suffering with scurvy, or vitamin deficiency.” As Drae finished Okara stepped to the side to complete her notes as the next student came to present their answers. The students milled around as they waited for their classmates to give their answers to Drae and receive praise or correction. Finally all the students had gone and Drae addressed the class as a group. “Thank you all for coming today, it was a great class. We have so much more to discuss this season, I hope you all return regularly. The best way to learn herbalism is to practice it so I encourage all of you to seek out the plants we discussed today and practice cooking with them. The most effective herbalist is a well stocked one!” Drae said in dismissal and waved goodbye to the class. Okara nodded in appreciation of her advice, she couldn’t wait to get out into the Silverwood and begin collecting ingredients to stock her shelves.

[Tap]

Your Grades Have Come

Okara

Grades:
Socialization 1
Observation 2
Drawing 3
Writing 4
Botany 5
Herbalism 1

Lores:

 

Botany

Botany: The Bareberry
Botany: Herbaceous Life Cycles
Botany: Woody Plant Life Cycles
Botany: Annual Cycles
Botany: Perennial Cycles
Botany: Purpose of Stems
Botany: Purpose of Leaves
Botany: Terms for Leaf Shapes
Botany: Terms for Leave Margins
Botany: Terms for Leaf Arraignments
Botany: Reproduction of Angiosperm
Botany: Parts of a Flower

 

Bareberry

Bareberry: Uses as a Tan Dye
Bareberry: Uses as a Yellow Dye

 

Oak

Oak: Uses as a Tea
Oak: Medicinal Uses
Oak: Uses as a Poultice

 

Willow

Willow: Uses as a Tea
Willow: Medicinal Uses

 

Pine

Pine: Edible Nuts
Pine: Uses as Tea
Pine: Medicinal Uses

Other:
-8gm for Herbalism Class

Comments:
Awesome learning thread! My only advice is to try and incorporate Okara's thoughts more. You did well on her actions, but for example, what did Okara think when she learned about plants reproductive cycles? Did she think it was strange when she learned plants have genders? Let me know what you think of the grades! I was a learning thread and so I feel like I went overboard on the lores, let me know if any are not of any use and shouldn't have been awarded.