Dragon thistle

From Ardesia

Dragon thistle is a plant unique to the Swift Valley and is essential to the survival of the orchards of Tayel. It has the peculiar property of giving off a gentle warmth, even after being cut. Patches of dragon thistle warm their immediate surroundings enough to prevent freezing and keep the patch free of snow even in the depths of Tayel winter.

Dragon thistle is also called fireweed for the flame-orange blooms that appear in late fall. Some grow to a height of seven feet or more, though the average height of a patch will be about three or four feet. The thorns are many and of varying sizes, making a patch of dragon thistle a dubious prospect for the desperate winter traveller.

Other species are less bothered by the thorns. Bees can be seen buzzing between fireweed blossoms from late fall to spring. Rabbits often den in wild fireweed thickets, eating the plants heedless of their thorns. Other animals unbothered by the plants' defences will often bed down in a patch for the night before moving on.

[edit] Cultivation

Dragon thistles are used to make nets that can be draped over fruit trees. The warmth that the fibres give off lasts into the spring, allowing the trees to survive the deep cold of winter.

Dragon thistle refuses to be cultivated beyond the patches where it is naturally found, so thistle farmers husband the patches that are either close together, or on land that is arable for other crops. Many patches are too small or too far from good soil to be feasible crops. Folk wisdom has it that they grow only where dragon scales have dropped and taken root.

A harvest of dragon thistle is steamed to soften the skin and thorns, and then peeled to separate the thorny rind from the fibrous flesh. The coarse fibre is used to make cord, from which nets may be tied. Blankets of mixed dragon thistle and wool or hemp are rare, as their useful life is limited compared to the work and cost, but sometimes crafted as-needed for long winter excursions.