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Chiolen Tree

Name: Chiolen Tree (aka Heartlost or Snowlost)

Size: Huge

Region: Mountains

Lifespan: Indeterminate

Appearance

The Chiolen is deciduous, losing its leaves quickly at the onset of winter. It is, however, amongst the earliest trees to flower and is known for an exceptionally long flowering period, with blossoms frequently not dying away completely until summer has totally set in. It is a small tree, growing up to 40 feet in height, with a naturally graceful weeping form.

A chiolen tree drawn by Evie

From very early Spring, the chiolen tree is covered in a profusion of dipping sprays of delicate flowers that follow and emphasise the weeping form of the tree. The flowers are as distinctive in colour as they are in their famed scent. The inner petal is a consistently crisp, bright white in all varieties, while the outer petal varies from the traditional pale ice blue to, in some modern varieties, a shockingly bright electric blue.

Behaviour

Habitat: The beautiful chiolen tree is native to the foothills and lower reaches of the Dusky Mountains but has become common to ornamental gardens all over the continent.

Special Information

Uses:

• In Anyeli folk remedies, still used to this day, the dried flowers of the chiolen are used to make a fragrant tea to treat depression and heartbreak; the tree takes its common name in the mountains, 'heartlost', from this use. The lowland common name of 'snowlost' is a play on this name and the snowstorm-like appearance of the blossoming trees.

Other Info: The tree is prized by lowland gardeners for its long flowering period, profusion of blossoms, and the distinctive fragrance of those blossoms which is frequently described as 'sweetly melancholy'.

However, the small, hard fruit of the chiolen is considered inedible by all the humanoid species of Elysia, though attractive to certain birds.

Creator: Evie