The Lotann Flower, or the "Blondladdie", the "Smoke-inna-Sphere", "Beggar's Kafe", "Beggar's Salad" or the "Springweed" is a common weed/flower plant, which was initially restricted to the Sarvonian continent, but in the latest years they have spread through most of Caelereth.

The petals of the Lotann Flower are just like a blond bushy head, pointing to all directions. The emerald green, sawtooth shaped leaves are nearly as long as the stalk itself. The long and thin roots dig deep to get the stuffs that are necessary to flowers. They dig so deep and are so though that it is really hard to pull the entire flower out of the soil.

Image description. A girl from the fishing village of Nepris with a Lotann Flower adorning her hair. Picture by Talia Sturmwind.

Appearance. The average stalk-length on a Lotann Flower is about two palmspans, and it is a bit less than a nailsbreadth thick. It is stiff, and bends a bit under pressure, but breaks after something stronger than a gale. The stalk is also filled up by a sticky white sap, which smells faintly of new-cut grass and mint.

The leaves are emerald green, sawtooth shaped, and nearly as long as the stalk. They are generally two to three nailsbreadth broad, and as the stalk's opposite, quite bendy, so you need to concentrate if you want to break them. The leaves are thin and transparent, you can see the pinkness of your skin if you hold your finger under them (if you got pink skin that is). There usually are only three leaves, placed at the bottom of the stalk pointing up, right where the roots start.

The blossom is circular, and covered in small yellow petals. It falls off easily under pressure. If you hold the stalk, then place your thumb under the blossom, and press up, the blossom will pop off, and land maybe a ped-and-a-half away.

The roots are gray, covered in a thin layer of "hair", and can reach a length of nearly a ped.  They are strong and tough, and they grow very fast, cracking stones if necessary.

In the late winter, Lotann Flowers shed the stalk, entering something like a hibernating mode. When the spring comes, and they awaken from their sleep, the stalk starts growing. On the old flowers, the stalk is fully-grown in a couple of days, and on the newer ones it takes about a week. Then the yellow blossom and the leaves start growing, and the flower is complete. When the late spring comes, the male flowers spread their pollen through attracting bugs and insects with their sweet nectar.

In late summer, the petals start to turn gray, and eventually in the beginning of autumn, the blossom is turned into a gray sphere. The pedals have then lost most of their shape; turning into a stiff, gray thread, with a seed in one end, and a lot of smaller gray threads in the other, shaping it like a kind of mushroom, or a T. The additional threads function as a sail, and at the slightest breeze, the wind carries them away to create lots of new flowers.

Nobody knows for sure how long a Lotann flower can live, but it is estimated about 3-5 years.

Territory. The Lotann Flowers are found through all of Caelereth where there is sunlight in parts of the year. They can live nearly everywhere and are also capable of living under extreme conditions, having been seen in the Rahaz-Dath desert, in the Icecaps, and even worse, they have been found capable of growing and prospering among cobblestones in busy towns. The only reason the flower can survive are the strong roots, which quickly catch hold, finding the soil and the life-giving water.

Usages. It is possible to eat the leaves of the Lotann Flowers, as they are nourishing and give a feeling of fullness. They taste a bit bitter when picked in the spring, but they taste even worse in later times of the year. Some less prosperous merchants buy early picked leaves from peasants so they can sell them as ship rations, as they keep fresh for about 3-4 months. Peasants generally eat them during famines, or add them to their supper to keep down the rations in bad times.

When dried the root is also suitable as a coffee substitute, but it's not a very convincing coffee tough, as it smells weird and tastes faintly soil.

Finally Lotann Flowers are also used as ingredients of the ormelin (orm conservation fluid).

Reproduction. Lotann Flowers generally reproduce during the late spring, but the seeds are not ready for flight until late summer or autumn.

Myth/Lore. It is said among peasants who work their backs off keeping the Lotann Flowers away from their fields that they will "outlive humanity".

Children sometimes play a game called "Pop goes her Head!", where they pop off a Lotann’s blossom, aiming at a person, and if it hits, it is said bad luck will follow you for the remainder of the day. Children usually think it's funny to blow the seeds of the flower at unsuspecting by-passers.