Also known as the Gossamer-Wing Vine, this plant is named for its strange leaves. They are pale and semi-transparent, grouped together in pairs so they look much like butterflies resting on the vine. They are a parasitic plant, most commonly feeding off of trees. However, they do not kill the tree, only slow its growth.
The leaves are perfectly soft when touched with dry hands, but if they come into contact with any warm, wet surface, they will release hundreds of little spores that will burrow into the wet surface and sprout many vines there. They can grow on almost anything alive, including places without sunlight, so they are exceedingly dangerous if eaten.
They can be safely collected with gloves and a face mask, and are worth a lot of money if retrieved. They are sold as decorations in Iria, and as poisons on the black market. However, many superstitious explorers consider them bad luck, and will refuse to have anything to do with them.
From An Alchemist's Guide, by Thomas Kruger (a third-year textbook at the Mage Academy of Iria)