Phosphon

You’d think that once we managed to burn everything up, the world would be barren. I only wish that was true, because where you see the green and purple of a phosphon, you can be sure this is no longer the barren wasteland you called home

— Theodore of Norw, First Chancellor of Norw

The Phosphonis Mycetaecelia or, as it’s commonly known the “Phosphon” is a mutated strain of super fungi which managed to survive the apocalypse only to morph into one of the best adapted species in the nuclear wasteland.
The Phosphon colonies begin when a group or cloud of of their spores fall into any place with radioactive water. The seeds use the humidity of the water only during the first stages of their growth. Once the fungus has established a base and the rudimentary stalk it begins the growth of its first “sail”
A sail is a spoon shaped membrane which is specialised in to gathering radioactive particles and converting the radioactive elements inside them into energy. This means that the Phosphon doesn’t need sunlight or any other means of growing, all other required nutrients are gathered from the ground which it very quickly permiates with vein like roots which are shared throughout the colony.
Due to the fast that radiation and radioactive elements can be found in abundace almost in the entirety of the planet’s surface, Phosphon colonies can grow into forests into months.
A fully grown Phosphon stalk can be as high as 5 meters (15 feet) with a sail spanning 5 by 10 meters above that. It is recorded that many Phospons reach to become over 20 meters (60 feet) tall with stalks as thick as 5 meters (15 feet) and sails big enough to cover a whole house.
A colony can number anything from fifteen to several thousands stalks. The greatest recorded infestation is responsible for the destruction of the city of Norw and the death of over 25.000 humans.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Primarily North West Europe

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Phosphons are known to become homes to a variety of giant insects due to the fact that they produce an oxygen rich atmosphere around them. They are in fact nurseries for many of the overgrown insect species of the wasteland.

Scientific Name

Phycomyces Phosphonis Mycetaecelia

Lifespan

15 - 20 years

Average Height

Stalk: 5 meters (15 feet) Sail: +5 meters (10 meters total)

Average Weight

120 - 200 kilos

Average Length

Stalk: 2.5 meters

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The stalk of the fungus is iridescent purple while the sail has a light lime green tint. Their name comes from the fact that during the early hours of the night when the release oxygen into the atmosphere the Phosphon’s sail shines bright white.