#Tempted to plant some blue lotuses and rhodedendrons now

[vilevexedvixen]

What species are the flowers in Fowler's fortress?

The flower with psychoactive pollen we see in episode 6 is probably entirely fictional, and not based on any specific plant. BUT Pondering over small, inconsequential details like this seems to have become my thing, so let's consider what it could be if it IS a real flower.

Based on its shape, the flower looks either like a waterlily or a lotus.

Fowler's indoor garden seems to be either directly above or otherwise near to the kitchen. Any water features such as fountains and ponds would need to be self-contained (to avoid leaking, or rotting the wooden beams between floors). Also, given how dimly lit the windowless garden is we can assume the flower blooms in the dark / nocturnally which actually narrows down which species of flower it could be considerably.

Now, originally I had assumed no waterlily or lotus is psychoactive so considered it might be a poppy instead, with the pink poppy looking the most similar to the flower in episode 6. The flowers we see are clearly growing singularly from the garden soil, rather than floating in water the way waterlilies and lotuses do. However, not only do these flower in full sun rather than nocturnally, it also turns out that there ARE psychoactive lotus flowers. Specifically Nelumbo nucifera or the blue lily flower and Nymphaea caerulea or the blue lotus, although these too bloom in the day and close up at night.

The broader taxonomy of Nymphaea nouchali / water lily has edible psychoactive roots (containing alkaloid aporphine).

It's pretty fitting for Fowler to cultivate a nocturnally blooming flower, given his crescent moon crest. Not sure if that crest is his or that of the Genghin clan, but he dons it all the same.

With all that being said, the psychoactive effects of the flower seem to stem (heh) from its pollen, not its petals as with Nelumbo nucifera. As it happens, there is a plant native to Japan which has psychoactive pollen containing "grayanotoxins" (named after Asa Gray from the 1800s. If Fowler talked about the plants it would be very anachronistic for him to use this term, so he probably wouldn't). These are a type of neurotoxin produced by the family Ericaceae (including the rhodedendron flower - not especially similar to Fowler's flower as they tend to grow in clusters with relatively smaller flower heads), with the different isoforms (structure variations) of the grayanotoxins each flower species produces varying the plant's toxicity. Whatever grayanotoxins are in Fowler's flowers' pollen act pretty quickly so are probably on the more potent end (so probably grayanotoxin III?)

"Mad honey" can be made from pollen contaminated with grayanotoxins, but the pollen itself is still psychoactive.

Overall, no specific existing flower species seems to perfectly fit Fowler's flowers. Lotus look the closest but don't grow in the conditions shown in the show and have psychoactive roots rather than the psychoactive pollen of rhodedendron flowers. If any BES fans are botanists or specialise in plants / environmental science / botany / related sciences, I'd love to hear what you know and think would be more appropriate candidates!