How the Herbology Final works:
The Herbology Practical and Herbology Written Exam share the same time slot for two hours from 10 to noon. The first hour will be for the written exam and the second hour will be for the practical. The written test provided below is a perfect O test, so if you want your student to get an O simply copy the test and paste at the beginning of your post. For role play purposes, the test is in game much longer than the 10 questions provided and the class will be starting at the end of the written exam then moving on to the practical.

You can also send a PM to Ishane Blair with your requested grade and why if you don't want to/are unable to post. Please respond before the end of June in game to be given your desired grade. If I receive no response before the deadline you will be given a A by default.


Note: 10/10 - 9/10 is an O; 8/10 is an E; 7/10 is an A; 6/10 is a D; 5/10 - 0/10 is a T.  The current answers are textbook definitions so feel free to change the wording to match your student even if they get an O.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - a plant having a permanently woody main trunk, normally growing very tall and has branches that are high off the ground
2.   Grass - a plant that has jointed stems, sheathing leaves and seed like grains
3.   Perennial - plants that have a life cycle lasting more than two years
4.   Vine  - a plant having a long slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers
5.   Grain - a small, hard seed, typically in the shape of a long, thin oval
6.   Spore - a reproductive structure that can survive for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions and have little food for the sprouting plants
7.   Moss - a tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground
8.   Seed - a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both embryo and food
9.   Flower - part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety
10.   Leaf - expanded, usually green, organ born by the stem of a plant, photosynthesis takes place here

[size=16pt]Herbology Written Exam - First Years[/size]
[size=12pt]Define the following:[/size]
1. Tree - [u]a plant having a permanently woody main trunk, normally growing very tall and has branches that are high off the ground[/u]
2. Grass - [u]a plant that has jointed stems, sheathing leaves and seed like grains[/u]
3. Perennial - [u]plants that have a life cycle lasting more than two years[/u]
4. Vine  - [u]a plant having a long slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers[/u]
5. Grain - [u]a small, hard seed, typically in the shape of a long, thin oval[/u]
6. Spore - [u]a reproductive structure that can survive for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions and have little food for the sprouting plants[/u]
7. Moss - [u]a tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground[/u]
8. Seed - [u]a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both embryo and food[/u]
9. Flower - [u]part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety[/u]
10. Leaf - [u]expanded, usually green, organ born by the stem of a plant, photosynthesis takes place here[/u]

For the Practical Exam, students are asked to perform two tasks:
1.   Separating and Transplanting an Aloe Vera plant and its outgrowths, and...
2.   Transplanting Blue Bessie seedlings around a potted dwarf fruit tree. Students have a choice of using an Apple, Cherry, Peach, Pear or Plum tree.

---

Ishane glanced up from grading the Fourth Year's exams when the greenhouse clock chimed the hour. "All right, quills down everyone. Put all your writing utensils away." Ishane flicked her wand causing all the tests to lift off the long table the first years were seated around and organize themselves into a neat pile on her desk. With another flick of her wand hand trowels, stacks of small, shallow terra cotta pots, and a shallow pot crowded with Aloe Vera plants set themselves in front of each student. Several trays of Blue Bessie seedlings, buckets of regular potting soil and succulent potting soil set themselves in the middle of the table, evenly spaced out so that each student had access.

"We are now going to begin your practical exam. The test has two parts, first you will be separating Aloe Vera pups from the mother plant and then transplanting the pups into new pots. For the next part, you will be transplanting Blue Bessie plants into the pot of a growing dwarf tree. The trees are labeled by type and are located behind you towards the front of the classroom. You have a choice between an Apple, Cherry, Peach, Pear or Plum tree." Ishane glanced over the students, her face serious, "You have an hour to finish all of your tasks and if you finish early you can leave early, but only once you have turned your plants to me."

She then smiled softly at the first years, "Also if you wish to, after finals are finished you can swing by the greenhouse and pick up your tree to take home." Her face turned serious again, "If there are no questions then you can get started."

Mary Beth fiddled awkwardly with her quill. She still found it clumsy and too difficult. Herbology (sadly enough) had been one of her better subjects. She still thought she'd end up bombing it like she had all her other tests.

A migraine brewed in the front of her head. She pinched the bridge of her nose and then opened her eyes wide, trying to bring everything into focus and get situated. She reread her test:

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - it's a plant with a trunk made out of wood, branches, and leaves
2.   Grass - a plant that grows on the ground. it's short and green. the seeds look like tiny little splinters.
3.   Perennial - plants that come back every year, or at least two years. annuals only live one year.
4.   Vine  - a long snakey plant that can grow on walls. grapes grow on them. also they can have leaves.
5.   Grain - seeds that you can make bread and cereal out of. such as wheat, oats, and barley.
6.   Spore - it's like a seed, but for a fungus.
7.   Moss - it's a soft, green plant that grows on the north side of trees. also, it grows by spores.
8.   Seed - it's a little thing that comes off a plant that can grow another plant. the little tree baby is inside it and also food for it.
9.   Flower - it's a part of a plant that is usually the prettiest part. also it's important for plant reproduction because it's where bees pollinate flowers while they drink their nectar.
10.   Leaf - part of a plant that is usually wider than the other parts of the plant, and it's where a plant does photosynthesis. they're probably wider to catch more sunlight and do more photosynthesis. like a little solar panel.

At her last sentence, she frowned a little. Was anyone going to know what a solar panel was? Probably not. Oh well.

She pulled on a pair of gloves and picked up a little trowel, glancing uneasily to the aloe vera plant. Making sure the soil she was going to use was nice and dry, she started gingerly separating the aloe vera pups from the bigger part of it. Herbology, she liked. Even though the plants got a little wilder than back home, mostly the principles were the same. And she'd had aloe vera plants at home before, so she'd seen how the little offshoots could grow on their own.

If most of the students could have heard what was going on inside her head, she imagined they'd have laughed in her face. In her head, she was saying very nice things to the cute little plants, and telling them what a nice home they were going to have in their nice dry fresh new soil. She planted each of the little pups- there were four, on her plant- and nestled the soil about them very gingerly.

She supposed the fact that plants were living things made it more interesting.

She had picked out a handsome-looking peach tree for her second assignment and a few pretty Blue Bessie seedlings. For this one, she knew she would feel rotten about it if she didn't place them around the tree in a pretty arrangement.

The Blue Bessies were more her speed. It made more sense to her to have to water and fertilize something when she planted it. She made neat little holes for each seedling, placed them very carefully in, and packed them in with plenty of fertilizer. And she watered the soil gently but made sure to saturate it.

Sitting back, she admired her handiwork. I should do this shite for a living, she thought with a little smile.

Well, Philo at least knew he would do fine on the written exam. He was much more a quill and parchment student.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - a plant having a permanently woody main trunk, normally growing very tall and has branches that are high off the ground
2.   Grass - a plant that has jointed stems, sheathing leaves and seed like grains
3.   Perennial - plants that have a life cycle lasting more than two years
4.   Vine  - a plant having a long slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers
5.   Grain - a small, hard seed, typically in the shape of a long, thin oval
6.   Spore - a reproductive structure that can survive for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions and have little food for the sprouting plants
7.   Moss - a tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground
8.   Seed - a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both embryo and food
9.   Flower - part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety
10.   Leaf - expanded, usually green, organ born by the stem of a plant, photosynthesis takes place here

He never liked being in the Herbology greenhouses. The fertilizer made him yack (dragon dung! eugh!) plus the clash of sickly sweet fragrances and bitter essences of the various plants. Dirt got everywhere during Herbology work. If he wasn't careful touching the wrong plant left scratches or itchiness. It was just...yuck. Philo wouldn't consider himself a Mysophobe or whatever the aversion to messiness was. He handled being covered in exploded party cake just fine. Heck, Arlaug was his pet and the Swear Frog was often coated in a thin layer of slime. Something about Herbology didn't stick with him. That instance as a kid with Mum's Fanged Geraniums must have been more scaring than he thought.

Philo eased into work gloves. He frowned at the practical tasks. Luckily there was nothing prickly, poisonous, or lethal. Although given his luck he would scratch himself on the spines from the Aloe Vera.

Well, time to delve into the deep of it. Philo selected a prepped Aloe vera plant. This shouldn't too hard, muggles kept this plant commonly too, supposedly. No doubt his mother would be itching to know how he did during this class come summer. The Falkins had been good at herbology even if no one used it as part of their job necessarily. Mum had her garden by the house. Felicia tended a patch of violent, hippogriff resistant plants during her downtime at the preserve. One of Dad's stories about the "Queasy Mandrake" was always retold at get togethers. A very Hufflepuff subject for his Hufflepuff family...

Having lost track of what he was doing, Philo found that he had pruned his Aloe Vera clippings in short chunks. Er, these weren't going to transplant well, were they? He doubted he could start again with a new plant so he did what he could to rescue the situation. In some empty pots for transplanting Philo dumped in soil and peat unceremoniously. He tried to get his stubs of Aloe Vera upright in the soil but they tilted and sank into the muck when he watered them. Groan.

What next? Transplanting Blue Bessie seedlings. Philo could see how this plant could be useful, filtering out toxins and unpleasant smells. They'd be perfect in his brother Fotster's bag of Quidditch gear. As an artificially created plant these would require careful handling. Great.

He tried his best to be gentle with the tray of seedlings he was to plant. Philo selected a Cherry tree. Because he hated cherries; might as well make the exam a miserable experience all around. If these were mature Bessies, maybe they would have gotten rid of that nasty cherry smell.

Attempts to remain focused were brushed away when he bumped into someone else when going for a tree. "Sorry," said Philo.

"No, that was my fault, I didn't see where I was going." It was Obderedria...[1]

Fully distracted, Philo spent the remainder of the exam sneaking glances in Drea's direction. He could never get tired of staring at her hair. The green dots on chestnut was so unique. She seemed to be doing better than him with the transplanting. At once he realized this might be grounds for cheating so he turned back to his own work. Philo was dismayed that half of his seedlings were crushed by his clumsy hands when he hadn't been looking at his work like he should have. Sigh.

The final minutes of the exam could not come soon enough. Philo was no green thumb when it came to the resurrection of greenery. His efforts looked like an Abraxan had grazed through the pots in mood for salad. Ah well. After drowning out the Blue Bessie seedlings with an accident with the water can Philo finally called it quits moments before the end of the testing period. He wasn't interested in keeping cherry trees. No doubt Professor Blair would find a better use for it. An maybe she would use his practicals for mulch.

1.	Another character of mine will say this in a future post.

Why was this even a subject! the voice in Ormen's head wailed. He detested Herbology the most. Who cared about stupid plants? He was around them all the time at home in London. No matter, Ormen picked up his quill and began.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - a large plant that has a fully wooden trunk and has branches stemming off the top of it.
2.   Grass - a pant that grows on the ground.
3.   Perennial - plants that grow in the summer. plants that grow for two years.
4.   Vine  - a plant that is long and slender that claps itself to nearby objects for support.
5.   Grain - a small, hard seed, typically in the shape of an oval.
6.   Spore - a reproductive structure that can survive through harsh conditions.
7.   Moss - a tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground.
8.   Seed - a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both an embryo and energy food.
9.   Flower - part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety
10.   Leaf - usually green, but changes color in Autumn. photosynthesis takes place in leaves.

Getting that unnecessarily tough written (in Ormen's case) over with, he turned his attention to the practical. Rolling his eyes, he muttered a couple of favorable words and slipped on his work gloves. Aloe Vera. Alright, easy enough. Ormen began;

Ormen found himself staring blankly at the Aloe Vera plant in front of him. What the... What do I do? he asked himself in his head. He tensed up and titled his head a little bit to the right so that in the mirror above him, he saw a Ravenclaw taking a trowel and clipping his Aloe Vera. Ormen simply copied him and began to clip the Aloe Vera. He noticed they looked a little uneven... but he disregarded it and threw them into the soil, not caring to plant them or water them. He looked on to the next practical.

Transporting Blue Bessie seeds. Sounded easy enough. Ormen trotted over to the trees, catching glances of other students to see what they were doing. He snagged a plum tree and placed it on his table. He sprinkled the Blue Bessie seeds lazily around the tree, a mortified look on his face. He had to give off a frown; what on earth was he doing? He was no where near good at Herbology. He detested it, to be honest. Taking a moment to examine his catastrophic mess, he simply didn't know what to do, then planted his face in his palms. I give up.

He waited for the end of class so he could fail any faster. This was killing him.

Cytherea wasn't that worried about her first Herbology final. From what she had heard from both her brother and cousin the first year test was really easy if you you knew anything about plants to begin with. Of course both of them had actually payed attention to how to do the practical part of their test.

Maybe Cytherea should be nervous, but nervous didn't suit her.

She picked up the written exam and laughed. Define what a Tree is? Really now? She haughtily rolled her eyes and began filling out answers.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - A plant that is, more or less, permanently rooted to the ground, with a wooden trunk, and has branches and leaves further up the trunk.
2.   Grass - a plant that grows upward from the ground with jointed stems and sheathing leaves.
3.   Perennial - plants with a life cycle greater than two years.
4.   Vine  - a plant with a long slender stem that creeps on the ground or climbs walls, trees, etc, by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils.
5.   Grain - a hard seed that generally is shaped as an oval
6.   Spore - a reproductive structure that can survive for ridiculously long periods of time in lousy conditions.
7.   Moss - a tiny, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in moist areas in small patches.
8.   Seed - a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both embryo and food
9.   Flower - part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety
10.   Leaf - an expanded section of the plant that performs photosynthesis.

Confident that she completed the written with a full 10, Cytherea turned to the practical. She glared at it with slight annoyance. This again seemed too easy.

Haphazardly, Cytherea removed the Pups of the Aloe Vera and placed them all in new pots. Only after wards did she realize her soil wasn't as dry as it should have been. A mix of emotions crept up, varying widely from calm indifference to rage. Eventually she just shrugged and turned to the next part.

Blue Bessie's. Right... how were you supposed to do this one again? Cytherea chose (after much deliberation) a rather cute little Apple tree. She may even take it home with her. Much more carefully this time, she removed the Blue Bessie's and placed them in a fresh pot. She remembered slightly that this was like a normal plant, and put a large amount of fertalizer in around it, before pouring copius amounts of water onto it. Yes that seemed right.

"Bam!" she cheered looking over at Mary when she had finished. "Pretty sure I'm nabbin' an O on this test!"

Obderedria actually enjoyed Herbology, something she wasn't sure of at the beginning of the year. She'd never had the chance to grow plants like this before, given that her mother and she lived in a cramped apartment and the landlord didn't allow for changes on the front walk. If you worked hard enough at Herbology something beautiful grew and flourished. Sometimes Obderedria skimmed through her encyclopedia of Herbs and Fungi, reading the name of an odd plant and wondering what it looked like. Eight times out of ten what she imagined was close to the accompanying diagram. Little surprised her on the written test which she answered to the best of her ability.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - a tall plant with hard bark and branches, they can grow very big
2.   Grass - a plant that has jointed stems, sheathing needle-like leaves and seed like grains
3.   Perennial - plants that come back from hibernating every year
4.   Vine  - a plant having a long slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers
5.   Grain - kernels you can use for food, often bread-like substances
6.   Spore - often released from fungi, these pieces of grit can survive harsh conditions before generating new life
7.   Moss - a fuzzy, grass-like plant that grows in moist places like rocks, ponds or the bark of trees
8.   Seed - a nut-like thing that contains the life for a new plant and food to start growing with
9.   Flower - a fragrant, petal structure with bright colors that contains nectar and pollen. Plant reproduction starts here
10.   Leaf - the green bit on the stems of plant to undergo photosynthesis to make food. They turn vivid colors and die off when a plant prepares to hibernate

As her test was collected Obderedria paid close attention to what Professor Blair said. She hoped that she would get done in time. After the explanation of the practical portion Obderedria was stunned. They got to take home a fruit tree?? Their own mature fruit tree?? She'd never had an offer like this from any of her muggle teachers before. The closest was raising tadpoles but that cheese-headed jerk Jerry Bagard had swiped her tadpole after knocking his tadpole jar off the desk back in her Primary years. She wondered if she would take a tree home, given the small flat. Better to think of that afterwards.

Drea remembered her apron today. It always took her a few minutes to tie it up in the back. Dang strings. Finally she got to separating her aloe vera. It needed to be dry before repotting. She was able to blot off excess moisture from the topsoil. For extra measure she tried the Drying Charm. Once the soil was dry she traced the leaves around the "pups" as she thought of them. With precise stabs with her trowel Obderedria rescued four outgrowths, placing them into smaller pots. After adding dirt and patching the holes from the mother plant, she sprayed a small layer of water to each since she was done transplanting. It should help the separated segments keep as long as they weren't overwatered.

Her aloe vera task complete, Obderedria paused before the fruit trees. She looked at each of them, the different fruits ready to blossom in a few weeks. If she did try to take it home afterwards, what should she pick? Apple? Cherry? Pear? What about peach? If she had to play favorites peach was her favorite. Good for peach cobbler, baked with cinnamon...cinnamon with rich brown dough, cream cheese frosting and...carrots? Wait, that wasn't peach cobbler!

Slightly disoriented, Obderedria backed up awkwardly, knocking into someone. "Sorry," said Philo Falkin, a brainy Ravenclaw that seemed apprehensive during Herbology.

Drea apologized. "No, that was my fault, I didn't see where I was going." She moved out of his way to select a peach tree. Hauling it back to her workstation Drea began to feel a little overheated. It was the start of June and summer and that only amplified the heat in the greenhouses. When no one was looking she snuck a drink from the watering can. If it was wet, she was happy. After sating her thirst Obderedria selected her tray of Blue Bessies. If she spaced all eight of them around the tree evenly...she doubted she would ever add more plants to this pot, a peach tree and Spice Flowers were enough, since the flowers roots didn't shoot down as far as the tree's.

After arranging the flowers in neatly drilled holes, Obderedria added fertilizer and a dusting of peat before soaking the pot in shifts, careful not to overwhelm the Blue Bessies. She smiled. It was a tidy little arrangement, almost worthy of the cover of those gardening catalogues that sometimes came with the paper during the summer. She had a few minutes left and could leave early if she wanted but Obderedria decided to hang back, taking time to worm out of her apron. She chose to wait and ask Professor Blair on how to keep the dwarf fruit tree in an apartment. Drea couldn't help but giggle--what was her mum going to think when her daughter came home from school with a peach tree?

By the time the clock chimed and Professor Blair asked them all to put down their quills Dahlia had already been done her test for quite some time. She had been sitting at her desk with her hands folded over her lap and her green blue eyes watching the older students frolick around outside the greenhouses. They looked to be fourth years, she supposed they didn't have any exams at the moment and the group outside was enjoying was little sun they were allowed to get during the hectic exam schedule all the students had to adhere to.

For the past thirty five minutes Dahlia had been watching wishing she could go out and join them. She had always been fast with finishing tests but honestly an entire hour to finish ten questions? That was just overkill, however it looked as though she may have been the only one to think so.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - The tree is a plant which has a permanently woody main trunk, normally growing very tall and has branches that are high off the ground. However there are several species of trees that only ever grow to be a few feet high, while others like the Red woods of America can reach heights of over hundreds of feet tall.
2.   Grass - a plant that has jointed stems, sheathing leaves and seed like grains. Grass is one of the most wide spread plants across the world existing in almost every country with exception of arctic and desert tundras.
3.   Perennial - plants that have a life cycle lasting more than two years, many flowering plants are referred to as either perennial, annual, or biennial. The perennials being the longer lived of the three. While many green or commercial herbologists (or gardeners in the muggle world) refer to only flowering plants as perennials, trees and shrubs can fall into this category as well.
4.   Vine  - a plant having a long slender stem that trails or creeps on the ground or climbs by winding itself about a support or holding fast with tendrils or claspers. The most common of vine plants being those of ivy and grape plants. The vine is an adaptive survival method that many different plants have adapted to allow them to get as much sunlight in an a area that's either hard for them to receive normally or in places with very little fertile soil.
5.   Grain - a small, hard seed, typically in the shape of a long, thin oval
6.   Spore - a reproductive structure that can survive for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions and have little food for the sprouting plants
7.   Moss - a tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant that reproduces by spores and grows in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground.
8.   Seed - a reproduction structure of a flowering plant containing both embryo and food
9.   Flower - part of a seed plant compromising of the reproductive structure in its entirety
10.   Leaf - expanded, usually green, organ born by the stem of a plant, photosynthesis takes place here

Dahlia put her test aside having not looked at her answers since writing them. She never bothered second guessing herself. It just wasn't productive. If she dwelled on it any longer than she actually had she'd end up with a test paper that was two feet long.

With her written portion confidently behind her Dahlia set her mind to the task in front of her, transplanting the Aloe Vera pups. She grabbed a terra cotta pot that already had soil in it. She pressed her fingers to the soil to test it's moisture levels. She frown slightly, it was far too moist. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the pot in front of her, "Lumos Solem!" She used a beam of concentrated sunlight to dry the soil, sucking the moisture out of it. Giving the soil a moment to cool down she moved over to the parent plant and with a small spade she dug a hole around one of the smaller plants, making sure not to sever any of the roots. She carefully lifted the plant and gently placed it in the new dry pot covering the small thing with more of the dry soil before putting a small layer of fertilizer on top. She knew that the plants only needed fertilizer once a year and was hoping that transplanting it would be enough to reset the cycle.

Once her Aloe Vera was replanted Dahlia turned to the final task on her test. Unlike the Aloe Vera the Blue Bessies thrived within a moist environment. Dahlia picked a small plant with a tiny plum tree within it. She grabbed a watering can and made sure the soil around the plum tree was soaked. She gently planted the Blue Bessie seedlings evenly spread out in a circle around the plum tree. She then piled plenty of potassium rich fertilizer on top before using the watering can once more to make sure the fertilizer was just as soaked as the soil had been.

With a satisfied sigh Dahlia brought her plants to the front and exited out the side of the greenhouse not bothering to see which of her fellow students had finished.

Pax had just finished checking and double-checking his exam paper when Professor Blair called for quills to be put down and summoned the parchments to her. Pax surreptitiously crossed his fingers. He was fairly sure he'd done all right on the writing portion, remembering a good chunk of the answers despite the test being rather long, but he wasn't as confident as he had been about the Astronomy written exam, or the Potions exam earlier that day.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - A type of plant whose stem is actually a wooden trunk, it also has branches which form the crown of the tree. Sometimes bears fruit, and always has leaves for at least part of the year. Can be deciduous, which means the leaves turn brown in autumn and fall off in winter, or can be evergreen, which means the leaves never fall off.
2.   Grass - A type of plant that covers lawns, and grows a lot unless it's mowed. It makes little grains to reproduce.
3.   Perennial - A plant that stays alive for longer than a year rather than just dying after it's flowered.
4.   Vine  - A type of plant with a long, tendril-like stem that can climb up and wrap around things in order to get enough nutrients. If it wraps around another plant like a tree, this can be detrimental to the tree, since it can get choked.
5.   Grain - A type of seed that is small and quite hard. Grass seeds are grains.
6.   Spore - The part of a plant that an insect picks up when it harvests pollen from its flowers. It is used to fertilise other plants and help new plants grow.
7.   Moss - A type of plant that doesn't have flowers, and grows spread out over the ground, if it's moist enough. If it grows on grass, that's not very good for the grass.
8.   Seed - Like an egg, but for plants. It has the baby plant and some nutrients inside, ready to germinate when planted.
9.   Flower - What plants use to attract insects to come and gather their pollen and fertilise them. They have the seeds and pollen inside, ready to be fertilised and dispersed. They are also pretty to look at.
10.   Leaf - Part of a plant that is usually green and extends from the stem to get as much sunlight as possible so it can use photosynthesis to use the sunlight to make glucose to nourish the plant.

Pax's nerves about how he did on the written part of the test were dispelled a little when Professor Blair started explaining what was expected of them for the practical segment. He was familiar enough with Aloe Vera and Blue Bessies, so that all sounded doable enough. And they even got to keep their dwarf fruit trees if they wanted! Pax grinned broadly at that. It would be nice to have a little tree of his own, and he was decent enough at Herbology that he reckoned he could take good care of it over the summer, too.

But first he turned his attention to the Aloe Vera, pulling on his gardening gloves as he looked over the plant. He could spy three offshoots on his plant, so he helped himself to three of the shallow clay pots, and filled each of them with some of the regular potting soil. After removing one of his gloves to check the soil was dry enough, he started carefully separating the baby Aloes from the mother plant. He then used his trowel to make small pits in the soil for each of the pups to be transplanted into. Once each was in its new pot, he carefully tucked them in, making soft reassuring noises all the while, as though to calm the babies who were leaving their old nest. He wondered for a moment whether to fertilise them, but remembered that Aloe Vera were supposed to get their fertiliser in the spring, so he figured they would probably be all right without.

Next he got himself a fruit tree, dithering for a moment over which kind to choose, before settling on a pear tree. He was quite partial to pears, plus they were his sister Poppy's favourite. If he got to take the tree home, how nice would it be to grow his little sister's favourite fruit for her? Arriving back at the worktop, he gave the soil a gentle watering, then used a gloved finger to poke little recesses in the soil, ready to have seeds dropped in them. Bearing in mind he didn't want the Blue Bessies' roots to tangle with each other's or the tree's, he made sure to space them as widely apart as he could in the pot without placing any of the pits too close to the edge.

After refilling and relocating some of the holes, he was finally satisfied with the placement, and started planting the seedlings, using excessive care so as not to squash the little plants. As he worked, he sang very quietly under his breath, quiet enough that with any luck the other students wouldn't notice. Neither of Pax's parents were particularly big on gardening, but his paternal grandfather loved plants, and despite his stern, practical nature, was quite an advocate of talking to and singing to plants to make them grow. Pax had picked up the odd little ditty from him.

'Grow little flowers, grow-grow-grow,
Grow from the seeds I sow-sow-sow,
Soon it'll rain you know-know-know,
So grow little flowers, grow-grow-grow.'

Once he had filled in the holes around them, he gave them another watering, being careful to water around the new plants in order to wet the soil without drowning the Blue Bessies. Recalling that these plants did want fertiliser, he reached over for it and applied it as best he could. Taking off a glove again for another feel of the soil, he decided it could do with a bit more moisture, and gave the soil one last watering. He wasn't about to let his thirsty little plant babies go wanting! Once he was done, he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. He pulled off his gloves and set aside his trowel, but stayed seated to inspect his handiwork, still singing ever so quietly in the hopes that the plants would hear him and feel more at home in their new pots.

Heliotrope finished the test in her blocky writing.

Herbology Written Exam - First Years
Define the following:
1.   Tree - TALL WOODEN PLANTS THAT GROW ON LAND
2.   Grass - GREEN STUFF THAT GROWS ON THE GROUND
3.   Perennial - IT GROWS BACK NEXT YEAR
4.   Vine  - LENGTHY PLANT LIKE A PIECE OF KELP
5.   Grain - ROUGH SCRIBBLE LINES FOUND IN A CUT OF WOOD
6.   Spore - A FUNGUS SEED
7.   Moss - LIKE GRASS BUT GROWS IN OR NEAR WATER
8.   Seed - PLANT OFFSPRING
9.   Flower - COLORED PETALS
10.   Leaf - ROUND GREEN PARTS OF PLANT

Heliotrope stood there as Professor Blair gave instructions. She stood for a bit longer than necessary than began moving once she noticed everyone else had. Herbology, at least parts of it, had come naturally to her given how her merpeople colony in Loch Lomond tended aquatic vegetation. These dry lands plants were different, not needing to grow in water but the application of her skills was the same.

Heliotrope did not wear gloves in Herbology. Her fingers were too webbed to fit in regular dragon-hide gloves but luckily they hadn't handled any particular plants dangerous to touch. Along with forgoing gloves she often forwent gardening tools as well, preferring to tackle the projects with her hands. Needing the dirt and fertilizer with her hands was pleasant, although Heliotrope did not know of using the word 'pleasant' that way.

Tracing the outgrowths from her aloe vera, Heliotrope pressed downwards with her fingers, teasing the growth back and forth until the soil loosened and she could reach down to rip the outgrowth from the plant. It sounded like cabbage being ripped apart. One growth snapped apart under this method, so after repotting the smaller aloe veras there was a single stubby plant.

Heliotrope followed directions to the letter, even optional directions, so it was her understanding that the students were to take the dwarf fruit trees home. It could grow on the banks of Loch Lomond, or the midget island were her mother resided. Standing before the fruit trees, Heliotrope was hesitant for a few moments. What tree did she want to choose? After a minute of scrutiny, a plum tree with budding fruit. She liked the color.

After hauling the tree back to her workstation, she paused. Someone was singing, faintly, but Heliotrope could just about make out the words. She had to move closer to Pax Wintergreen, though, as sound did not travel as far in the air as it did underwater.

'Grow little flowers, grow-grow-grow,
Grow from the seeds I sow-sow-sow,
Soon it'll rain you know-know-know,
So grow little flowers, grow-grow-grow.'

She paused. Heliotrope liked the rain, the water from the sky splattering against her skin. During the stormy weather over the past year she could follow her familiar routes around the castle even if they passed courtyard or open parapet, unfazed by the rain everyone else tried to dodge. Listening to Pax sing, she finally remembered that she had a test to finish and returned to her work station.

With her hands Heliotrope gouged out holes for the Blue Bessies to be planted in. She placed each flower into the holes and patted the earth around them. She watered the plants. She dumped the remaining portion over her head: it was hot in the greenhouses, and fresh water down her gills helped her cool off. Dirt and mud was everywhere around her arms, like a baker white with flour after moulding a rather nasty loaf of bread.