| Warning!
At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. |
- Professor Sprout: "Bubotubers. They need squeezing. You will collect the pus—"
- Seamus Finnigan: "The what?"
- Professor Sprout: "Pus, Finnigan, pus, and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus."
- — Pomona Sprout and Seamus Finnigan in 1994[src]
A bubotuber is a magical plant, the visible part of which resembles a large, thick, black slug.[1]
Description
This portion of the plant also squirms of its own volition. The surface of a bubotuber is covered in shiny protrusions, which when squeezed yielded a thick, yellowish-green pus that has an odour akin to that of petrol.[1]
Habitat
It is unknown where Bubotubers originate from, but they can be found in the Forbidden Forest and are kept at the Hogwarts greenhouses.[1][2]
Use of pus
Bubotuber pus
- "An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples."
- —Pomona Sprout[src]
Bubotuber pus acts as a treatment for severe acne, but undiluted pus can affect unprotected skin in unintended ways.[1] This suggests that bubotuber pus is a topical treatment, but that the actual salve consists of the pus either diluted in a solution or mixed with other ingredients. The pus is also used in the brewing of certain potions, such as the Healing Potion,[3] and Fake protective potions.[4]
History
In 1994, Bubotubers were discussed and handled in Fourth year Herbology classes, with particular attention given to the extraction of Bubotuber pus.[1] They also are described in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.[5] During the 1994–1995 school year, Hermione Granger was sent a letter full of bubotuber pus by an unknown person who evidently believed the slanderous Rita Skeeter article that claimed that Hermione was toying with the affections of both Harry Potter and Viktor Krum.[6]
Etymology
Harry using the Seize and Pull Charm to pull on a Bubotuber growing in the Forbidden Forest, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
A Bubotuber plant as seen on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
- The name "Bubotuber" seems to be a compound of the words "bubo", the swelling of the lymph nodes seemingly like a large blister that accompanies infections like the bubonic plague, tuberculosis, or syphilis, and "tuber", referring to the fleshy, thickened underground stem of a plant, usually containing stored starch, like a potato. Both seem to be in reference to the appearance of the plant.
Appearances
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 13 (Mad-Eye Moody)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 5 (An Excess of Phlegm)
- ↑ Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 4, Side Quest "Trouble wit Tonks"
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 28 (The Madness of Mr Crouch)
