Piety vine

Piety vine is a flowering vine prized throughout the Sirdabi Caliphate. Its flowers begin to open just before dawn, achieve their full openness at noon, and put out their strongest fragrance in their evening, thus corresponding with the three hours of Azadi prayer. It is a desert adapted plants with slender woody stems and small succulent leaves, which resemble elongated hearts with slightly curving tails. The flowers are shaped like tiny long-stemmed trumpets, most commonly white, but coming in many other colors as well. The piety vine is capable of sending down very deep roots, and despite its delicate look can survive conditions of both prolonged and intense drought, as well as the sudden ravages of desert downpours. Though never common, it can be found either native or naturalized across all the lands of the caliphate.

Folklore

The piety vine is said to have its origins in the Garden of Iinilt-esh in Marzum, yet never bloomed until the Prophet al-Azad was killed upon the slopes of the al-Saahira Peaks in Rahoum. The delicate streak of deep pink of red that runs down the center of each leaf is said to be a drop of blood from the Prophet himself.

Uses

Due to its association with al-Azad and the hours of Azadi prayer, piety vine is often cultivated in sirdabs, or even within the interiors of mosques. Gently plucking the withered leaves and blossoms off the plant helps it to thrive and continue blooming, and is considered one of the most spiritually beneficial acts one can perform as part of the central Azadi practice of Tending the Garden. These withered parts are considered to have potent curative purposes for those sick in body, mind, or soul, and may be steeped with water from a sirdab fountain to create a tea that heals when combined with the right words of prayer.