September 1894 - Journal written in greenhouse

Submitted for THIS homework assignment from Mason Skeeter

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The vampiric vegetation seeds I have selected look quite unassuming considering the vicious little plant they will hopefully turn into. They are blood red in colour and shaped roughly like blood drops that have been squashed on their side. Each seed weighs approximately four grains and I have five of them. They are planted in soil that has been sourced from the graveyard with the permission of the groundkeeper. I have named them, Vladimir, Bathory, Sith, Lamia and Stigoi.

My initial observations at the point are minimal but I noticed that sith had a small crack in the husk of the seed before planting. I could not see any evidence of a green shoot emerging so my hypothesis is that this particular seed will not be viable.

For the purpose of this project I would like to see whether the vampiric nature of the plants and the stories about them is true. To this end I have initially supplied each of the seeds with 1 cc of blood from the following sources.

Vladimir - rat
Bathomy - newt
Lamia - human (my own)
Sith and Strigoi shall remain as controls and be given only water.

The large planter has been placed as per the instructions given to me and has been protected from light. I will next check them in a week while I attend garden club.

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

October 1894

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This is entry two of my vampiric vegetation study. It has been 28 days since I planted the seeds and have checked on them twice during that time without formal observations.

At day 28, four of the five seeds have germinated. Unfortunately, Sith has not broken the surface so I will hold to my hypothesis that the seed was damaged when planted. I will continue to monitor in case this changes.

Vladimir - 5/8 inch tall, one leaf beginning to develop
Bathomy - 4/8 inch tall, no leaf buds yet
Lamia.- 5/8 inch, two smaller leaves developing
Strigoi - 4/8 inch, one leaf developing
Sith - no growth

At this time the difference between the plants is very small, Vladimir seems to be a slightly lighter shade than his siblings but within natural colouration variation. I have repeated the feeding mixing in the same blood types as used on day one to each plant. As an aside observation to this, I have determined that jokes about slowly feeding yourself to a plant are considered less funny when shared at breakfast.

My next formal observations shall follow in four more weeks.

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

November 1894

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Entry three - day 55

Measurements

Vladimir - 1 3/8 inch tall, two leaves, slight reddening in colour
Bathomy - 1 5/8 inch tall, one leaf and one small bud
Lamia.- 1 7/8 inch, three leaves, slight reddening, a shade darker than Vladimir
Strigoi - 1 3/8 inch, two leaves
Sith - no growth

The two plants that have been dosed with mammalian blood appear to be taking on a darker hue than the other plants and shifting to a more red colour. I have repeated the dosing to see if this transition continues but this may be the last blood meal given to the samples. Lahmia is growing with slightly more vigour than the rest. However, it is still difficult to tell whether this is due to any specific factor or simply natural variation. I am hoping that in either December or January I may begin to see teeth forming on at least one of the plants and I will make sure to have my dental tools ready for a thorough examination.

A wondering has crossed my mind that I did not initially consider. Perhaps a test with muggle blood would have been preferable as my own metamorphmagus blood may be an unplanned variable. I however am quite satisfied that externally sourced blood would be beyond the scope of this level of study and so I will not pursue this line of enquiry beyond discussion. I may however send correspondence to an expert horticulturalist to see if there is any other research on this factor.

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homework fao Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

December 1894

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Entry four - day 84

Measurements

Vladimir - 2 1/8 inch tall, several leaves of a reddish colour, a single flower has formed but not opened
Bathomy - 2 5/8 inch tall, several leaves, plant is growing quickly but with less density
Lamia.- 3 inch, darker red than the other plants, several leaves, two buds and her first tooth
Strigoi - 2 2/8 inch, several leaves middling growth density
Sith - no growth

The plants appear to be growing well except Sith who I can confirm is dead at this point. The darkest of the plants and the one that seems to be thriving most is Lamia. She has one small tooth formed and I believe that gloves will be in order for any future examinations.

I have had a rewarding correspondence with a Miss Cordelia Emsworth regards the project and she believes that the blood, while not doing anything intrinsically to the plant, may be adding something to the soil. My hypothesis based on the work of F Hünefeld is that the red hemoglobin in my blood might by both nourishing and pigmenting the leaves of the plant. She also suggested that my metamorphmagus blood is unlikely to have any impact on the study. However, the more inquisitive part of me holds out hope of something peculiar that I might discover and call my own, so I have repeated the innoculation of each of the plants.

Regarding plant maintenance I have repotted each of the plants, maintianing the original soil but checking their roots. All appear healthy but Bathomy did have a small weevil growing between its roots which might explain the thinner growth compared to the other sample plants.

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homework fao Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

January 1894

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Entry five - Day 110

Measurements

Vladimir - 3 2/8 inch tall, growing well, lovely foliage and one rather sharp tooth(see notes)
Bathomy - 3 6/8 has gained his first flower, removal of the weevil appears to have increased vigour
Lamia.- 4 3/8 inch, Dark red leaves seem well established, primary but are open and very active, one other bud is about to flower
Strigoi - 3 2/8 inch, plenty of leaves, one bud, some insect damage to leave, have applied insecticide to all specimens.
Sith - still dead

Each of my living specimens is beginning to flower and they are quite pleasant. In this regard, I believe I did not take the necessary care of using gloves as Vladimir surprised me with his vigour and helped himself to my right hand. However, I can use this incident to add further information to my study. I would compare the bite strength of the plant to that of a small cat with the capability to penetrate human skin but not the strength to remove tissue.

For the other plants, I wore gloves and was able to examine the teeth fairly well. The behaviour of the snapping plants all seems quite as predicted, Lamia seems to have the greatest vigour of the bunch due probably to the aforementioned haematological fertilisation.

All plants have survived transfer to their new pots and other than a little slug damage are alive and very well.

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homework for Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

February 1894

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Entry six - Day 134

Measurements are now becoming more difficult due to multiple branches of growth.

Vladimir - 4-4.5 inch tall Vladimir is probably the most bitey of the specimens, he now has several teeth that he is keen to use.
Bathomy - 4 inches tall Now has its first toothed flower and is growing well
Lamia.- 5-5.5 inches, Lamia has the largest flowers with two fully grown and toothed flowers. It is less aggressive than Vladimir but seems to react to my presence
Strigoi - 4 inches, the insect-damaged leaves have fallen off leaving the specimen slightly lopsided but is growing well.
Sith - still dead

The specimens have now reached an age where they can begin an insectivorous life and I have fed each plant a single ground weevil for consistency. My understanding is that each plant will take approximately a week to digest the insect down to its chitinous components so I will check in a week and add that to my next installment.

I feel a little attachment to Lamia, it seems that the inoculation with my blood has had an impact on my own psyche regards bonding with the plant so I shall keep her once this study is ended. A friend has already expressed an interest in transplanting Vladimir into their greenhouse to help deal with insect pests.

There has been little to do this month with the plants other than some minor pruning of dead leaves. It has given me time to ponder the difference between this species of vampiric vegetation and others. I am aware that this plant can thrive living off of the nutrients provided by a host plant, and in turn, it helps protect the host from insects in a symbiotic relationship. I am curious about whether I could implant one of the samples into a tree once the weather outside becomes warm enough to allow the species to survive. I shall discuss this with Professor Skeeter as one does not simply walk into the forbidden forest and start attaching carnivorous plants to miscellaneous trees.

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homework for Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

March 1894

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Entry seven - Day 160

Measurements are now more difficult due to multiple branches of growth.

Vladimir - 6.5 inch tall Vladimir has is well established and like the others is enjoying the spring sunshine
Bathomy - 6 inches tall Bathomy has been transplanted onto a young oak tree on the edge of the forest, I was unsure whether the graft had taken but appears to be thriving.
Lamia.- 7.5 inches Lamia and I our friends, we have an accord that she will not bite me. She is growing very well
Strigoi - 5.5 inches most of the insect damage has now recovered and although Strigoi is a little behind in growth there are no problems.
Sith - still dead

This is the penultimate entry to this assignment and I feel I have learned as much as I can from the standing specimens. On day 138 I transplanted Bathomy with guidance into an oak tree. The first two days saw wilting of the flowers and leavs but this has reversed and the plant seems healthy. There is no noticeable effect on the oak tree at this point but as my studies suggest, the relationship is beneficial and and parasitic effect from the vampiric plant is minimal.

This month has seen the greatest level of growth from all specimens which seems to be associated with the spring sunshine and the increasing daylight hours. This is as to be expected and I am hoping the accelerated growth will continue into April so my final specimens can stand tall and proud for their year of hard growing.

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homework for Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope

May 1894

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Entry Eight - Day 199

This will be the final entry of this study and hasn't time flown. I have not taken full measurements as the foliage has begun to take on its summer vigour but all plants are around a foot tall.

Vladimir - Little Vladi is leaving tomorrow to join the pumpkins in my friend's greenhouse. I would posit that he is still the most aggressive of the bunch and will make a fine insect guard.

Bathomy - Bathomy has been on the oak at the edge of the forest for three months now and as the tree has flourished so has the little vampiric plant. This specification is now quite clearly the largest of the bunch and suggests that while the plant does gather many nutrients from catching insects, attachment to a host tree is very beneficial. I hope she survives the cold Scottish winter and continues to be a member of the Hogwarts floral community for years to come.
Lamia - Lamia is now a member of the Hufflepuff common room and is enjoying being a part of a new study. How many Hufflepuffs are willing to test "Does it actually bite" Yes it does, yes it hurts and so far the tally is two. I hope my head of the house does not ask for it removed due to the fault of other students. Regards its growth, it is healthy and has deep green foliage
Strigoi - This plant is still a little smaller than the others but has shown wonderful resistance to insect damage. He is still looking for a home so will occupy the greenhouse a little longer.
Sith - I feel sorry for little Sith not getting to play its part in our experiment but the seed has now been added to the compost

This study has been fascinating and I am pleased that the plants have done well. My conclusion is that the Vanpiric plants do benefit from whatever is in the various blood samples used but it is not a direct benefit and more a secondary effect of the nutrients. Flys and other crawlers are a preferred food, after student's fingers, but the greatest growth can be seen while on a host tree. I still theorise that the use of the blood of a magical creature such as myself has a bonding effect with the plant as Lamia appears to react to me differently than other students, but this would require another study to properly determine.

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Mason Skeeter

  

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Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope