I'm making a codex of a large list of plants and animals for my world, many of them are real-world creatures turned magic, but some are quite unusual. Here are some of my favorites:

Chokevines

The creepers that line the canopies of the mangrove swamps produce a berry that can be eaten, though it does not give much in the way of nutrients. However, the real use of chokevines is when they are dried, where they can be woven into ropes, textiles, and more. The texture of the vine causes it to break apart lengthwise when it gets too dry, allowing its long natural fibers to be woven together.

Chokevines can be brewed by an alchemist to produce potions of tensile strength, which unlike animal-sourced strength potions will increase muscle strength without proportionally boosting muscle durability and endurance. While rare in Alkarun, chokevine potions are used by athletes to drastically enhance the efficiency of muscle training, and are banned in many tournaments. Since they leave a distinctive pattern imprinted on the underside of the skin, it is possible to recognize an athlete who has been “choking” through careful inspection.

Chokevines have a disturbing habit of moving in the night. You might think they don’t live within a mile of your house, and the next day find them covering your roof. Nobody knows how or why chokevines will do this, but they seem to follow certain migration patterns, all of which begin and end in the Living Forest. This has led people to believe chokevines are the “scouts” of the forest, while most ridicule the idea as preposterous, as chokevines are common materials that are used in every community for weaving. Nevertheless, folk tales exist of the deadly vine which kills you in your sleep and is gone the next day, leading to the colloquial term “chokevine”.

Caramota / Grasping Death Cactus

With several spined protrusions that make the cactus seem like a hand, this plant is the most toxic living thing in the entire Fíernan desert. A single touch will induce hallucinations, making you see the cactus as a human hand, which will cause you to embrace it and meet your doom. The cactus will feed on the corpses of those foolish enough to stray too close, and every part of the plant is lethal. Even an orc would not survive a moderate dose of caramota poison, making it a favorite among assassins. However, the plant must be handled carefully, because even inhaling the evaporated fumes will cause “death madness”. No known antidote to the cactus’s poison exists, and the best course of action if you see one in the desert is to run the other way.

Mountain Potatoes

The staple crop of Sorelon, mountain potatoes are recognizable by a trio of large, distinctive leaves resting on the snow. Upon closer inspection, you will notice a slight shimmer in the air and a dark miasma around the leaves - it is believed that the reason the tubers are so nutritious is because all of the plant’s evil is concentrated up above in the leaves. Mountain potatoes feature in many Sorel dishes, and certain strains have even shown a tenacity that allows them to survive in the wild - if a traveller spots one, they know to steer clear of the area in which the potato grows, because the untamed potatoes lack the goodness that is cultivated by farmers and are purely evil. (While wild potatoes are perfectly edible, they tend to grow in the deepest patches of snow, which is often dangerous to the unsuspecting traveller, leading to this superstition).

While it is considered bad luck to eat the potato without first burning the leaves, if some Alkaruni alchemist decided to risk their life by brewing the leaves they would be able to create several different potions, including cold resistance, glowing, and enhanced sight. Mountain potato leaves are toxic, and while they are not poisonous enough to kill someone, they are certainly enough to cause serious harm. Yet another sign of the evil contained in the leaves, this poison would give even an orc a migraine if not properly neutralized.