Nirnroot

Nirnroot is a fictional plant found in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The plant is bluish-green, glows gently and emits a ringing sound. Nirnroot has four large leaves and superficially resembles a young dandelion plant.

Nirnroot is found mostly in places with a close water supply. Generally, unless the Nirnroot is a potted plant in a house or shop, it will be within a few steps of water. It is rare for there to be a body of water that does not have at least one Nirnroot growing around it.

In the case of large bodies of water, Nirnroot can often be found nestled between rocks, next to piers, columns, boats, houses, or next to trees. In all cases the Nirnroot grows such that it is not easily visible from more than one direction.

Nirnroot has been reported through history as a valuable alchemical ingredient, but has become exceedingly rare in the time period of Oblivion.

In the lore of the game world, the alchemical properties are unknown, but there is speculation that a potion made from Nirnroot will be of great aid to those who venture into dark dungeons.

When the player first obtains a Nirnroot plant, a new quest comes up. The player is to show the plant to an alchemist, who will refer him to another alchemist, who will give the player the quest to find 100 specimens of the plant, all of which are scattered around the game world. This is one of the most longwinded quests in Oblivion.

The odd plant might be linked to the name of "Nirn", or Arena in the game's "common tongue," English. Nirn is also the name of the planet where the Elder Scrolls games take place. Thus, the Nirnroot could also be construed as "Earthroot".