Today, the class would find themselves on the second level of the dungeon, which involved a lot of swaying rope bridges strung between impossibly tall trees and overgrown spires and towers from what appeared to be a fairy tale castle. Most of the walls looked a little worse for wear, as if they had once been covered by something - say, gold for a purely hypothetical example - and then had that covering torn away. Again. Hypothetically. And for all that the level was indoors, there was sunshine that streamed down around them and bright natural light.

Because magic was how.

"One of the types of monsters that this level's got that the rest don't are man-eatin' plants," Senshi said casually, his axe slung easily over his back. "That's because there's enough sunlight and occasionally rain that really lets 'em thrive up here. This is also where we gotta start bein' careful about sustainability. The Walkin' Mushrooms an' Huge scorpions aren't really in any danger of gettin' killed off, cause they've got plenty of places to hide when they're not chasin' adventurers, but the plants are right there in the open and once adventurers know what to look for, they'll start killin' and burnin' the lot of 'em. Hmph." Senshi very clearly did not approve. "So if you're ever actually in a dungeon with them, you're gonna wanna spread your harvestin' among a buncha plants if possible, rather than just denudin' a single one. Once you know how the plants feed, you also wanna avoid takin' their major source of obtainin' nutrients, unless you're plannin' on takin' the whole thing - which again, best if you can do when there are a bunch together, not just one. And, the most important rule of all, take only what you will eat."

He walked along one of the bridges to a wall that was overgrown with long, tangling vines. "There are four different families of man-eatin' plants out here, though that's kinda a misnomer. They don't all eat humans. Here, we got a plant in the Baraselia family. They're fertilizer types. Bereselias have large flowers that smell good and long, ropey vines. They typically grow along animal trails where they attract their prey by smellin' like sweet fruit and the like, which is why their flowers grow so big and tall - to better spread the scent around. The vines secrete a sticky fluid that acts like spidersilk, and when it's touched, it wraps the vines around whatever's runnin' across it by reflex and pulls it in close to the bottom of the large flower. The vines are strong enough to break bones and the prey usually ends up strangled or broken, or, with larger animals, end up starvin' to death cause they can't break free. Baraselia lack the ability to digest prey, so they leave the corpses on the ground around their roots to make their own compost. So, if you're wanderin' down an animal path, smell somethin' sweet, see a large flower with lots of thick vines - you got yourself somethin' in the Baraselia family."

He gave the class an opportunity to examine the Baraselia more closely, including feeling the texture of the flower itself and the strength in the vines and the sticky exuded sap, and then continued on. This time, he stopped in front of a tall tree that was festooned with large, colorful flowers and more hanging vines, though these were thinner and more elastic that the woody vines of the Baraselia. "This is a Shadowtail variety. Though they've got what looks to be a run of teeth around the inside of the flower, this also doesn't eat humans. The Shadowtail is one of the parasitic types and that ring of teeth are actually seeds. Those vines catch their prey and wrap them up in vines securely so they can't move, but still comfortably. Once its prey is secured, it extends its long stamens and plants its seeds under the victim's skin. Once the seends have been implanted, the prey is allowed to go free, where the seeds will sprout and begin absorbing nutrients from the host body until it dies. Then the Shadowtail grows up out of the body and wraps around the nearest tall object - usually a tree, with lots of branches to support its weight. You'll notice that the Shadowtail don't really have a scent. That's because they prefer ambushes - droppin' their vines around the prey before it knows there's a Shadowtail about. If you hear the sound of shiftin' plants under a tree and there's no breeze? Be careful, there's a good chance there's a Shadowtail above you in the branches. Your best bet is to keep quiet, no vibrations or disturbin' the air currents, until the shiftin' stops, or targetin' the root. It can be hard to spot, because it usually tries to blend in with the bark, but you can see where it wraps around the tree in a spiral and is planted in the earth. This is true with all man-eatin' plants, but the surest way to dispatch any of the plants is by targeting the base of the stem near the root. Magic can also be effective, but it will most likely render the plants unusable."

Another pause for examination, and then they were moving on. "These ones here, Meeroaks actually eat people. They're basically oversized pitcher plants that use their own stalks, or the remains of mostly-digested animals as prey. Once the prey gets close enough, either its vines will wrestle the prey into the pitcher or sometimes the prey is just foolish enough to fall in. Inside is slippery and covered in downward-point' fibrous hairs to make climbin' out both difficult and painful. Also the pitcher itself is thick and rubbery to avoid damage from prey that's determined to fight. Sharp knives and swords can cut through, but it does take some doin', and all the while, you're standin' in digestive fluid. For the most part, Meeroaks don't stink, unless somethin' jostles its 'lid' and then you'll likely smell whatever it's digestin'."

Enjoy that mental image class.

"And last, we have the Betan family, which is a dependent type. Of all of them, they look more outwardly vicious, with what look like hungry maws and the like. That's camouflage. They exist by surviving on nutrients other man-eatin' plants release into the soil. Because of that, you'll mostly see these around other, actual man-eatin' plants, there the soil is more likely to be rich and healthy. Unlike the other three, they don't have fruit so much as nuts, that are soft and easily mashed, rather than needin' to be chopped."

After the last round of examining still versions of these different kinds of man-eating plants, Senshi went on to explain their fruits, how to tell when they were ripe, and what bits of the plants were edible and which to watch out for - no one wanted to eat the flowering body of a Meeroak, for example, or the seeds of the Shadowtail. (Though, he'll mention that the Meeroak's pitchers often have a fine build-up of gelatin, if you're feeling brave and also strong of stomach. That gelatin makes a very good binder, setting far better than slime gelatin does.)

"All right, enough ramblin'," he said when he was done. "Go on out there and bring me back somethin' edible from one of each type of plant. Also, be careful! The second level's got plenty of other, more dangerous monsters about and you don't wanna attract their attention."