by Arielle Jurard



Alchemists, healers, and self-sufficient adventurers practising their arts in the province of Skyrim are advised to familiarise themselves with the ingredients of the region. To aid those of poor memory, I have recorded some alchemical formulae which use the native flora.



Potions to restore fatigue are amongst the easiest to produce, if only because the required ingredients are so abundant across Tamriel. Many common foodstuffs possess the required effect; combining two or more of them in a set of quality alchemical apparatus results in a more potent – and bottleable – effect. Bread, apple, cheese, honey, leek and potato are all easy to obtain throughout the Holds. Bread in Skyrim is baked in the Colovian fashion, from native witherwheat flour. The grains and flour also restore fatigue, but are much less palatable. Apples can be found on their trees, and are often farmed, as are leeks and potatoes. Honey can be obtained from beehives, which are normally cultivated on farms and in some cities.



To create a potion for the restoration of health, combine black spore cap and honey lily blossom. The Black Spore mushroom can be found in dark and damp places across Skyrim, though only its cap is of alchemical interest; the stalk tastes bitter and is good for little. Honey lily flowers grow abundantly across The Reach, and particularly in Markarth County. Their blossom is the distinctive honey color for which the plant is named.



A potion to replenish one’s magicka can be rendered from taragetis blossom and the leaves of the vicar herb. Taragetis flowers flourish in the warmer parts of Skyrim, as does the vicar herb, though vicar herb can be hard to locate due to its diminutive size. Keep a watchful eye for its small white flowers which contrast with the surrounding grass.



Of particular interest to adventurers is a potion to lessen one’s weight. This is simply prepared by adding equal parts cloudy corn to shadowfly stalk. Cloudy corn is a farmed staple food across the province, but the shadowfly plant is quite rare, and only grows in the wilds of Skyrim. Anyone who spots its purple petals whilst travelling should take care to harvest the plant, as they are of value to practising alchemists.

(By Luxray)