A magical herb that keeps things cool...for a long time.
The Kubla Khan's Herb is described on various pages of Grimalkin's Treasury of Great Recipes, almost exclusively in connection with ice-cream. When its little blue flowers are dried up, mixed with milk and shattered ice, it will prevent the substance from melting for days (the period ranging from 2 to 5, depending on circumstances, see below) - even in the direct sunlight.
This is very suitable not only for storing of the ice cream itself, but also for many recipes which involve such subtleties as frying of the ice - and such. BUT the adventurers might want to use it in an entirely different way...
The disadvantages of this herb are: the flowers only bloom for three days in a year, are exceedingly small, expensive and extremely hard to come by.
Magical Properties:
Each flower contains a small amount of magic...VERY small amount, that is - and that's why there has to be SOME amount of them before one can start thinking about anything - 100 dried flowers will keep a pound of ice intact.
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Ooh! An inventory of herbs in the making! I do like mundane-seeming items like this, which come in surprisingly useful to the player who notices them. It all adds depth to the campaign world...
The herb keeps the ice cream from melting for 2 to 5 days, huh? I only have one, very silly, question:
What happens when the players eat the ice cream?
Brrrrrrrrr!
Let us hope the process of consuming and digestion cancels the herbs magical effects...
Actually, special research (or a miscast spell) may discover how to trigger this effect, if you ate the herb before. This may (in extreme) cause freezing of your whole body, or, somewhat more innocent, let you feel cold and perhaps make it easier to get the flu, or other disease.
Hmmm... weakening someone's immunity with a common, non-poisonous herb... quite devious. It is no good news for a kingdom to have a single sickly heir, and the king being too old to get a new one...
Oh, as Manfred mentioned, somehow, during the process of digestion, the effects of the herb wears off...usually...
But it does leave a cool feeling around your stomach.
May be with a different name, may be with a slightly different working and obviously the flower is in abundant supply, but only on a remote island....
I know I am going to use this and I already know how to get my players to the point where they are going to be send to the right place (and arive just one night late...)
I think in my world, the plant will bloom only on special nights, about once a month....
Maybe a local special effect causes this magic, a magical snow-storm or something? It does not have to be cold weather, it could be just the opposite (it's hot = flowers need to cool down lest they wilt...) or any regular magical effect. If it could be re-created, these flowers could be grown elsewhere.
Plot hook: research the phenomenon, and duplicate it for a wealthy merchant, an enterprising druid, or anyone with a taste for ice-cream.
A clever idea. Details on how it works (do ice cream eaters have bad effects, etc.) need a little working out, but a nifty thought/plant.
A nifty little plant that can be used in a healers toolbox as well. I like it!
Like this. Short and sweet mundane item.