“The bond between creatures is far more complex and interwoven than any invisible magic web. The beauty of it is how close some of these bonds can be.” — Noldorian

Type: Flowering legume; pseudotree

Where to Find: Taigas, deciduous forests. Comfortable range (unaided): 67° - 87° F / (aided) -12° - 112° F

Distinguishing Features: Fuchsia leaves and curling tresses of wisteria flowers.

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Symbiosis

The unmistakable vibrancy of a weaver wisteria can be spotted from miles away. These rare trees are incredibly delicate and fragile but are prized for their beauty and copious growths of flowers. The flowers curl in unique flowing bundles, carrying with them a scent like newly made candy. The bark of a weaver wisteria is a dull sickly red color, damp, and porous, making it prone to disease. Gardeners have struggled to grow and raise weaver wisterias in a controlled environment for years. The tree dies within a matter of minutes when outside its comfortable range.

That being said, the weaver wisteria is found in taigas and areas with cold winters. The tree owes its persistence in the wild to a unique species of ant: Weaver Mites. The tree has come to earn its name from these ants. The ants are extremely miniscule, about as big as a strand of hair is wide (or 0.008 inches). Yet, they share a unique relationship with the tree. Queen weaver mites share their nuptial flights with the germination period of weaver wisteria seeds. After mating, instead of finding a nest, a queen weaver mite will locate a seed underground and proceed to burrow inside. The weaver mite colony then grows in tandem with the tree.

The principle benefit of the ant lies in the gossamer thread they expunge from their mouths. This thread has been found to be marvelously insulating and moisture-repelling. The microscopic ants will slowly patch the porous holes of the tree, protecting it and altering its comfortable range. As flowers grow, the queen will move into a cluster. This initial clustered, called the throneroom branch, is adorned in thread. Even in winter, this branch remains fully bloomed and protected. As the colony grows, the queen will essentially clone herself and produce new queens and drones, who breed internally and move into new branches called annex branches. Finally, when the tree is matured, the queen will give birth to genetically varied queens who will fly from the throneroom branch and attempt to find new seeds (often from their origin tree).

In exchange for this complex protection network, the weaver wisteria produces a rich golden sap in its trunk and roots. This is the primary food source for weaver mites, and a colony would quickly die if it was compromised. Only a few lucky individuals have gotten to taste the wisteria’s syrup; it is said to elongate one’s lifespan.

With all this in mind, it is easy to see why the eternally blossomed weaver wisteria is a welcome and heart-racing site for the naturalistically-minded adventurer.

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Gameplay Effects

Weaver wisterias may be carefully extracted and preserved for a period of 1d4 days with a successful DC 20 Nature check. This grants you a wisteria mantle for the time period rolled. This will not be sufficient to grow a tree.

With a DC 25 Nature check, and during early spring, an infested germinated weaver wisteria seed may be discovered in the ground around a healthy plant.

Wisteria Mantle
(rare, consumable)

The curling bundles of soft wisteria flowers drape your chest and shoulders. With this mantle equipped whenever you would drop to 0 HP you may choose to expend half your hit dice and regain the number rolled as though you had taken a short rest. The mantle immediately withers and crumples afterwards.

Potion Ingredient. The coveted sap of a weaver wisteria may be slowly extracted through the careful use of a treetap. You gain 1 mL of wisteria sap each month through this method. This sap may be used to brew a potion of superior healing by using the rules presented in pages 128+129 of the DMG.