Developed by Linika
Found: The tundral plains around Viden
Toxicity/Hazard: Carnivorous plant with powerful sleep agent and digestive enzymes.
Appearance: Innocuous-looking tufts of grass on the snowy plain. A highly intuitive creature may take notice of the subtle pattern in the surrounding snow, suggesting the existence of the net of vines below. Even then, it is likely to be ignored.
Properties: Sleep agent, Acid, and honing oil for blades
Not truly a hazard to creatures that do not feed on grass, this network of viney runners shoots up tufts of a grass-like growth to lure northern herbivores into its net. The blades contain a sleep agent that knocks the animal out. This new imbalance of inner chemistry causes the release of an enzyme that strengthens and sharpens the runners near the neck into a wire-like structure to cut the animal's throat.
The blood causes another chemical reaction, triggering a thigmonastic response that causes the runners to roll up and wrap a "cocoon" of sorts around the dying animal. This motion also opens inner membranous seals, which release a strong acidic protein that dissolves the flesh, allowing the nutrients to be absorbed. Systems of "veins" within the runners allow the displacement of the initial sleep agent, so the enzyme can more readily act upon the plant's victim.
Other Information: All in all, it takes about two seasons for an animal the size of a horse to be absorbed of those elements which the plant needs for further growth. Regular microbes and bacteria will complete the decay of the remains. However, if the netted animal is found within the first twenty trials or so after death, the runners between a 10' and 20' radius of the body can be gathered and processed to glean this sleep agent for chemical or alchemical use. After that time, they are absorbed back into the plant.
That is the most common reward for adventurous chemists. Outside of that range, only the acidic protein can be collected, and acids are common enough that it is more cost-effective to keep the plant alive by tearing up as little area as possible. Lastly, if the animal is found within a few breaks after its death, the enzyme that makes the vines into throat-cutters can be very carefully collected and used as a blade oil that provides for more durable edges.
Some chemists will "farm" these elements by keeping caged, underfed rabbits, and then releasing them into these "nets" to be fed upon, thereby maintaining the cycle of chemical reaction.