"The first tree I secured was a proud Queensdale oak, of the kind that grow near the hallowed Academy. It is suited to temperate climes, and enjoys moderate rainfall. Sturdy, with deep-red acorns and an uncharacteristically dark maroon bark for this genus, it is held in high regard by artificers, who consider it most fitting for students of an eager and curious disposition.

The second tree I found, in an estate by Lake Doric, was a young Krytan sallow, a type of willow that produces extremely pliant wood and a large coat of leaves that closely resembles a funeral weeper. It enjoys temperate to colder climes, and an abundance of water. Marked by the faint luminescence that plays beneath its leaves on summer nights, where fey-lights caused by the leyline line coalesce, it is hard to work into a staff, but particularly attuned to the fundamental forces of ether and arcane, fitting students with a penetrating mind and thoughtful disposition.

The third tree I purchased from a Norn gardener on Priory grounds: a Silverhair Fir, native to the Shiverpeaks. A great coniferous tree, capable of growing to incredible heights, it is distinguished by the faint silver streaks in its needles, that give the impression of pale columns under moon or sunlight. Evergreen, it enjoys cold climes and moderate amounts of water. It is marked for its spiritual purity, and its large branches often shield the animal kin of the Great Spirits from rain and snow, making it most fitting for adepts of ritualism or guardian rites, who can trust it to shield and invigorate their own spirit.

The fourth tree I obtained after tiresome negotiations with the head gardener of the Beetletun Estate: a rare Sorrow Cypress, a tree said to have originated in Orr before its fall. Precious few of this conifer exist, most of them in the dangerous Straights of Devastation. Their bark is almost jet-black, with dark-green needles, and a strange affinity for loci of power, prompting several botanists to state it was a magically induced mutation of the base cypress. It enjoys temperate climes and moderate rainfall. Due to its rarity, its properties remain somewhat mysterious, though Solon of Hygecea states, in his Opus Ligni, that it can wield great power in the hands of the wilful and the ambitious.

The fifth tree was traded in Lion's Arch for two powergems and an autograph. It is a Vabbian tamarisk, which is meant to grow into a rather bushy tree, that produces pink flowers from the end of summer to mid-autumn. It is usually planted in sandy soil, and enjoys warmer climes, with light rainfall and a lot of sunlight. Few have survived the devastation wrought by Kralkatorrik, but they are prized nonetheless for their beauty and resilience. Notes by artificers of Joko's court suggest its wood was in common use in the creation of staffs and bows, and prized for its association with oasis life and heat. It found its way in the hands of healers and individuals of a caring and generous disposition, few as they were among jackals.

The sixth tree is a small plant thicket of Seitung bamboo, noted for producing larger and sturdier shafts than the garden variety that survived in Kryta these last centuries. It enjoys tropical climes with abundant rainfall, and its rapid growth means it will likely need regular culling in order to maintain the thicket in order. The masters of Shing Jea monastery value this species for its sturdiness, abundance, and beautification of the already lush isle, and their artificers boast of the facility to which bamboo staffs take to spellcasters of a tranquil, controlled disposition.

The seventh tree is a proud Rin maple, a red-leafed, tall deciduous native to Ascalon, more specifically southern Ascalon. They are found in some abundance there, and they enjoy temperate climes and moderate rainfall. Due to its hardness, Rin maplewood is often used for musical instruments, including the mournful lutes played in almost every tavern in Ebonhawke, and their ability to capture a bard's emotions with their clear, even harsh notes extend into their artificing use, with a persistent association with mentalism and enchanted tunes.

The eighth tree is a Snow Cherry sapling, secured in Hoelbrak for a simply ungodly amount of disposable fabric wipes, that I suspect -and secretly hope, given the whiff- were ultimately used for backside hygiene. Unsurprisingly, it thrives in cold weather, with an abundance of water, producing several small fruits often used in Norn cuisine. Cherrywood is extremely popular, as its dark, rich hue makes for beautiful furniture; however, its northern variant is prized by artificers for its ability to channel power even from the most reserved and shy students, almost acting as a gateway that allows deep reserves of power to bloom into spellwork.

The ninth tree was kindly offered by a former student, and is an Ekku, a species native to the Maguuma jungle, where it enjoys tropical climes and an abundance of water. Noted for its bright-green leaves, pale bark and white-grey wood, it matches the natural optimism and vigour of the Sylvari, and particularly connects with the brimming energies of youth and innocence.

The tenth tree is a Kessex Beech, nearly indistinguishable from the common variant, with the exception of a soft radiance coming from its leaves at night, due to exposure to Scarlet Briar's toxic preparations. What few trees survived the madness of those times seem to have developped various afflictions, with this being one of the more widespread. Artificers do not often favour beech, as it lacks the straight grain of other trees, but they make an exception for the toxic specimen, which pair well, or so perfidious minds tell us, with deceitful and malevolent individuals, whose curses become empowered by such gnarled implements.

The eleventh tree is a Suntouch Cedar, found mostly in Istan. It is a resilient coniferous tree, enjoying temperate climes and modest rainfall. Unlike other varieties of cedar, its needles tend to be clearer, pointing upwards. Their texture, seemingly translucent, enables them to refract sunlight, causing miniature rainbows to appear around them near noon, or sometimes under a full moon. They are highly sought-after by members of the Astralarium, who associate it with their divining practices, and feel it pairs well with their geometrical mindset and abstract pursuits.

The twelfth tree is called a Cleardew Pine, and found only in the Canthan mountains, where legend says it turns dew into a liquid so pure that each drop is sentient. They are reputedly guarded by roaming water elementals, taking the shape of animal spirits. This one was the hardest to obtain, as it required going through Canthan bureaucracy, my worst nightmare. Still, this sapling is worth the wait. It thrives in temperate to cold climes, with moderate rainfall. Its wood is often used for canes used by ritualists and invokers of all kind, as it is said to retain some kind of primitive sentience, facilitating spells of conjuration and binding.

The thirteenth tree is a Divinity Yew. Most of these evergreen trees were ripped from Divinity's Reach when construction began on a new capital, and the old cairns and tombs of priests were moved or desecrated. What few of this old species remain only grow in the cemeteries around the city, and only with copious amounts of alcohol was one sympathetic warden convinced to give me this sapling. This evergreen tree enjoys temperate climes and moderate rainfall, and most of it is exceedingly toxic, even potentially lethal. At the warden's urging, I brought a bucket of grave-dirt with me, so that it might grow surrounded by lingering lifeforce to feed on, lest it slowly poison the entire grove. I suspect only necromancers will be able to make real use of it, as its wood is noted for its uncanny affinity for death magic."

Former headmaster Galileo Venici, Memorandum on the grove's essences, Collective of Applied Magic archives.