Gold Speckled Pike Mushroom
"...It took me years to work up the courage to try eating these. The horror stories I've heard about them were very unappetizing...."
Basic Information
Anatomy
The fungus is made up of two main sections, the mycelium and the fruiting body, or mushroom. The mycelium is the body of the fungus. The mycelium spreads through and takes root in its host so that it can take in nutrients from it. The fungus will try to take root in areas where a high amount of nutrients can be easily siphoned, for example the roots and trunk of a tree or arterial blood vessels of an animal. The fruiting body’s purpose is solely for reproduction. Spores produced by the fungus are created and dispersed from the fruiting body within a week of it forming.
Genetics and Reproduction
The fungus reproduces asexually with the use of spores. When the fungus takes in a surplus of nutrients it will start growing a fruiting body. The growth of the body can take anywhere from one week to one month. Once fully developed the fruiting body will begin production of spores. Within after at most one week after the fruiting body starts spore production the mushroom will explode, releasing its spore into the air up to 100 yards away. Once a spore makes contact with another organism it will begin to germinate and begin the cycle anew.
Growth Rate & Stages
From germination the fungus attempts to spread its network of mycelium through its host. The mycelium will seek out a nutrient dense area of the organism so that I can quickly gain a surplus of nutrients for reproduction. This process can happen anywhere between one hour to one month depending on the host organism’s species, size, and health.
Ecology and Habitats
The fungus needs a warm and wet environment such as lowlands swamps to grow properly. The swamps around Mercommernaut provides an ideal environment for it as it provides the proper climate and the favored host for the fungus, the red maple tree. While not ideal, the fungus can infect a great variety of creatures such as small plants and animals, insects, and even humanoids.
Dietary Needs and Habits
The fungus and host have a parasitic relationship, where the fungus syphons nutrients from vascular systems of its host. The nutrients that the fungus requires are carbon-based compounds such as sucrose and insulin. These nutrients are gathered using a filtering appendage of the mycelium that acts as a net to “catch” the nutrients and distribute it to the rest of the fungus.
Behaviour
The fugus is known to have some adverse effects when infecting animals, specifically humanoids. If infected by spores a creature will succumb to fungal psychosis and become outwardly hostile to any uninfected creature it happens upon. No recorded cases of the fungus reaching reproduction in a non-plant host have occurred. However, research suggests that it may be possible.
Scientific Name
Pupa Domini
Conservation Status
Not Protected
Geographic Distribution
Related Organizations
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