Flora of Skyrim, Volume IV: The Well-Used Tundra Cotton

by Froa Giantborn

What’s abundant in the plains surrounding Whiterun, white, and the most widely used plant in all of Skyrim? If you guessed wheat, you are incredibly stupid, because that’s yellow, and the title of this book isn’t The Well-Used Wheat. If you guessed tundra cotton, you’re correct. So how and why is tundra cotton so widely used? The short answer: it’s perfect. The long answer: this book.

The plant itself is rather bushy, with soft, fluffy flowers. It looks rather rice from afar, and feels great on the skin. But that’s all obvious. What’s the REAL reason it’s used in almost all clothing in Skyrim? It’s magically ideal for the task.

Consuming the plant allows one to resist magic and bolsters ones magicka, shield use, and bartering. But wearing the processed flowers can offer similar effects, albeit less powerfully. Do you ever wonder why Nords naturally seem to be a bit better at blocking and speaking? Perhaps it has to do with this, but I don’t have a large enough sample to test this theory. Back to the point, wearing processed cotton fibres makes the wearer a bit more intelligent (especially with magicka), and protects them more than other fabrics. This doesn’t mean you should forego armor, but it does explain the enormous amount of damage some people can sustain.

The other important thing that sets cotton apart is the ease of collection. Each small plant yields quite a bit of cotton, so it only takes about 20 individuals to weave an entire tunic. In addition, cotton often grows in bunches of three, and one can find it abundant in the plains surrounding Whiterun. Even walking from Rorikstead to Riverwood, I picked enough for nearly five tunics, the equivalent of 50 potions. This abundance means no one bothers to grow the plant on farms, but I predict someone could make a decent drake in such a manner.

Perhaps more profitable is purify the alchemical properties of the plant in potions. I have found that the flowers can be involved in some of the most lucrative potions. It helps that quaffing one of the draughts yourself improves your prices a smidge for a time. But while cotton may be especially useful in alchemy, the exact opposite is true with cooking. I tried mixing it with many a dish, but it just ruined the texture. It has a horribly bland taste, and poses a serious choking hazard. My wife nearly died when I served it to her. I strongly discourage using cotton in any foods as anything other than a garnish.

I hope this has shed some light on this underappreciated and misunderstood plant. If you enjoyed this entry, consider checking out the first three volumes, about snowberries, juniper, and deathbell. My upcoming volume will attempt to tackle the topic of Dragon’s Tongue.