2024-05-31
Written by: Violethy
Views: 1123
This is one of the articles that was submitted to the Secrets of Tibia 3 contest. It was written by Violethy.
A rare and desired plant within the tibia by many players since its launch in 2000, the blood herb has interesting characteristics reported about it within the game, but what about its inspiration, where did it come from? Due to its similarity in characteristics, it is believed that it may be a Rafflesia arnoldii, a plant originating from some regions of Asian countries, it is known as a parasitic plant or also called the corpse plant due to the smell it releases during its existence.
Keywords: blood herb, Rafflesia arnoldii, Venore, corpse plant
We know that Blood Herb has always been and to this day is a great passion of many decorators within the game, launched in the update of November 3, 2000 (source: tibiawiki) with the addition of the Torn teddy doll and achievement when conquering it, it became even more loved and desired by players.
Found in the Venore swamps, to conquer it you need a small quest which, despite being short, presents difficulty in accessing the location due to the presence of a giant spider. However, today, some players still take risks in search of this very rare flower.
But analyzing this magnificent herb, the question of its origin arises. After all, despite being an item that has been in the game for 13 years, and its beauty, little is explored about it.
Thinking about this, we tried to imagine where in real life the inspiration for its origin came from, and based on its characteristics and the little information that was in the game in the book herbs and plants 2 which said: “and often just by draining nitrates from trees , who die in the process. Therefore, these plants can be found near or even inside dead trees.” (source: tibiawiki), it is believed that its inspiration came from the herb Rafflesia arnoldii or better known as corpse flower. This flower, which resembles the blood herb in many characteristics, is extremely rare, and exactly like the blood herb, it has the characteristics of nourishing itself with water and nutrients from a parasitized plant. But what would lead cipsoft to be inspired by this plant? Would it be the fact of its rarity or its peculiar and unique characteristics that make it a good element to be introduced into the game?
The blood herb over the years and with the introduction of new decorative objects in the game has fallen into disuse among players, even the biggest lovers of decoration have made room for other decorative items and thus it has become somewhat forgotten. But on July 5, 2011 (source: tibiawiki) the Torn teddy was added to the game and to be won it was necessary to exchange it for one of these flowers and, as it was a difficult achievement, it gained more value. Furthermore, when purchasing the bear it was still possible to obtain the Torn Treasures achievement, which made the desire for not just one, but many of these flowers even more intriguing.
To conquer it today it is necessary to complete the blood herb quest, this quest is located in the Venore swamp, close to the witch Wyda where it is possible to exchange this plant for the possible doll.
The only npc in the game that purchases this herb is Chondur in Meriana, but normally this type of trade is not carried out, since as mentioned, it is a unique achievement and due to all its particularities, players prefer to keep for your own use, or pass it on to other players within the market among themselves.
Tibiawikia.com mentions that this is a rare herb, due to its botanical properties. Among witches, it is widely known that a blood herb sucks all the life force from a tree, leaving it dead. And this can be seen when collecting the plant, as it is found inside a dry tree branch.
For more information about her, you can read a book called herbs and plants 2 which is located in Wyda's house in the swamp in a room with a locked door, but access is via key 5000, which is also known as Witch House. Key (source: tibiawiki)
Complete passage from the book on the blood herb:
Blood Herb (Herba budinia)
Aplant with large, dark red-colored blossoms. It is nearly extinct due to its lack of strength – the herb can only survive in the shade and often only by draining nitrates from trees, which die in the process. Therefore, those plants can been found near or somentimes even on the inside of dead trees
Place to conquer the blood herb. Source: Tibiawikia.com
Torn teddy, bear won by exchanging weed with Wyda. Source Tibiawiki.com
Given the main information we have today about bloodweed, let's compare the characteristics of Rafflesia arnoldii, also commonly known as corpse flower or monster flower due to its size. (source: mundoecologia.com.br). It is very similar to the blood herb and is as rare as it is, and is even so rare that it is facing possible extinction.
Rafflesia arnoldii can be found in some regions of South-East Asia in the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Considered the largest flower in the world, it can reach 106 cm in diameter and can weigh 11 kg. (source: mundoecologia.com.br), has a foul odor characteristic of rotting flesh, the odor attracts flies that carry out its pollination, it does not have leaves or roots, and rafflesias are plants that usually live in the roots of trees and in the stems where it sucks nutrients from a tree known as Tetrastigma and thus does not carry out its photosynthesis, nourishing itself only from the components of its host.
This plant is considered a parasite, as it needs another type of plant for its survival. And the development of common rafflesia happens from the moment its seeds fall and become lodged in the cracks in the vine; After a period of time, a sprout appears that, over time, becomes large enough to break the bark of the host plant. The estimated lifespan of this plant is approximately 7 days. (source: mundoecologia.com.br).
And even with little information about its medicinal properties, studies have been carried out believing that it may indeed have curative characteristics for various diseases.
(Source: https://www.mundoecologia.com.br/)
Blood Herb Source: Tibiawikia.com
Rafflesia arnoldii Source https://gigantesdomundo.blogspot.com
With so many similar characteristics, especially regarding its aspects of nourishing itself from other plants to develop, it is possible to believe that Rafflesia arnoldii really was an inspiration for the development of blood herb by cipsoft, it is not known whether for its beauty or for these characteristics peculiar features that it presents, giving blood herb greater originality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.mundoecologia.com.br/plantas/flor-raflesia-caracteristicas-nome-cientifico-e-fotos/
https://www.escoladebotanica.com.br/post/maior-flor-do-mundo
I love how articles uncover more content in Tibia and help me understand Tibian universe better.