Overview

Gillyweed is a magical plant that, when eaten, gives the consumer the ability to breathe underwater by giving them gills, as well as webbing between the fingers and toes which allows them to swim with great ease. It also removes the need for blinking, and lets the consumer adapt to cold temperatures in water. While under effect of Gillyweed, one can not breathe air with one’s lungs.
There seems to be some debate among Herbologists about the duration of the effects in salt water versus fresh water. In fresh water, one sprig of Gillyweed allows the consumer to stay underwater for well over an hour.

Gillyweed is native to the Mediterranean Sea.

History

According to some sources, Gillyweed was first discovered by Herbologist Beaumont Marjoribanks.
The magical properties of the plant, however, were discovered by Elladora Ketteridge by accident, as she ate the plant and almost suffocated as a result. She only recovered when she stuck her head into a bucket of water.

By the 1890s, a drink known as Gillyweed Tonic was available for purchase, which is created from Gillyweed.

On the 24th of February 1994, Harry Potter famously used Gillyweed for his second task in the Triwizard Tournament, which required him to be able to breathe underwater.

Credits/References

Written by Andrew Pine.
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.