Beauty Tulip

A small pod of Beauty Tulip flowers.

## **Overview**

The **Beauty Tulip** is an extremely common species of tulipa (tulip) flowers found all across planet **Haven's** temperate forests, plains and grasslands. with a theorized global population of around two hundred billion individual flowers in the world. Due to their extreme commonality, they are amongst the most famous species of flower across Haven's multitude of cultures, appearing in many pieces of cultural art and iconography. Particularly, **Gnarvesh** born of **Rozelhana** variety will oftentimes name female children of theirs either **"Beauty"** or **"Tulip"** in honor of the flower they often times share hair and face pigmentation with, making it a fairly common feminine name.

## **Physical**

The Beauty Tulip flower's baseline physical appearance and structure are akin to that of many different species of tulip flowers found across the world however they have a few characteristics that make them stand out from the masses. They are amongst some of the shortest species of tulip flower that can be found, only growing to a maximum height of around three inches, however, the vast majority only grow to be around a single inch in length. Their stems are incredibly thin and very flimsy, oftentimes snapping during winds that exceed speeds of ten kilometers an hour. The Beauty Tulip flower is typically a solitary flower, only growing in spots one at a time, usually separated from one another by several inches. However, on rarer occasions, small pods have been known to form, usually when the reproduction and growth of a Beauty Tulip flower are obstructed or bottlenecked by other species of nearby flowers.

At the top of these stems, the flower pedals produced all share a universal pink tone, with a slight white coloring at the bottom of the blossom toward the stem. The texture of these pedals is incredibly soft, almost feeling identical to that of fine velvet, along with each producing a striking aroma that smells akin to that of freshly washed linen. This smell is very overpowering and has been designed as such to attract various species of pollinating insects to them. Typically a Beauty Tulip will only live around five standard years, during which each winter it experiences it will begin to spread about around ten seeds, meaning a single Beauty Tulip flower will have, at maximum, ten progeny flowers.

## **Usage**

The Beauty Tulip flower is most typically used as an ornamental piece throughout the whole of Haven, with many **Havenborne** residents using them as the showstopper flower of their personal gardens. As well, they are often kept around one's home due to the powerful smell they produce, making them a natural air freshener. Or in a similar vein, many will crush the petals and mix them together to create perfumes, as the flower has become synonymous with a pleasant aroma. Along with the smell, types of cloth are made from the pedals as they are incredibly soft, usually being used to create small gloves and hand towels for those with very sensitive skin.

The Beauty Tulip flower holds particular significance to the Gnarvesh race, the Rozelhana. Countless pieces of cultural art and tradition is based around the flower, the most major of these being when a Rozelhana wants to wed a close loved one. Traditionally, the Rozelhana, regardless of gender must craft themselves and their partner a small, interlocking bracelet with a spiral pattern design made from Maple branch and Beauty Tulip petals adorning each segment, then, at the wedding ceremony, present their betrothed with the bracelet created for them. The couple is not to remove the bracelet throughout their whole lives, even if they are separated from their former spouse, and or upon death.

Along with being used by insects to gain sustenance as they pollinate them, the Beauty Tulip flower serves as a major food source for many species of herbivores as their pedals hold a vast amount of sugar within them as a byproduct from the enticement of pollinating insects. As well, many species of bird and even insects and arachnids will use the pedals as bedding for their respective nest or hive, as they are incredibly soft and easily able to provide a safe bedding for their young.