Red Moon Bloom

Across Soplas and Supercontinent A, there are mushrooms that "bloom" under the light of the full Red Moon when Blue Moon and Green Moon are darkened in their New Moon phases.
The names of the mushroom changes from culture to culture - Tormians call it NAMEONE, their Tormian neighbors to the north call it NAMETWO, and across the Soplan-Osiaric-Name Sea in Oshrar, it is called NAMETHREE.
While no one may agree on the name, the effect is indesputable - if harvested when in "bloom," the mushrooms can be made into the most powerful healing potions, and will keep their potency for longer than other healing potions. However, the potion effects will eventual degrade over time, and if the mushrooms are harvested at any other time, they are best used for purging livestock of gut-parasites.

— Herbalism and Fungi in Medicine, an Alchemist's and Artificer's Guide to Ingredients

Red Moon Bloom is the most valuable ingredient for powerful healing potions. While other plants and fungi may have lesser results when used to make potions, part of the Bloom's value comes from the once-every-Cycle night when they can be harvested when their caps are "fullest" and appear the most like a blooming flower.

Uses

Potions made from these mushrooms can seal off injuries, and in very minor cases heal without leaving a scar. Some tales suggest the potions could be made with other rare ingredients to allow a person to re-grow limbs or restore a person's ability to walk - those tales are often dismissed as a sleazy sales pitch used by charlatans trying to pass themselves off as healers or alchemists for coin and goods.

Lifespan

~ 3 years at most before harvest, uncertain otherwise

Average Height

~ 2.5 inches to the top of the cap

Average Weight

Generally, 15 mushrooms is half a pound

Average Length

Cap: ~ 4 inches diameter
Stipe: ~ 1.5 inches diameter

Geographic Distribution

• Soplas
• Supercontinent A

Related Ethnicities

• Goltherine
• People of the Five Cities
• Thydian
• Tormians

For most of the Cycle, the mushrooms are toxic and used in anti-parasitic potions for livestock suffering from gut-parasites, or in very small doses on people who also have the parasite and need a more powerful medicine to expell the source of their illness. The medicine is dangerous for most people, save Dwarves who have a unique resistance to medicine and poisons, though the danger is mostly as a result of the person's body being exceedingly enthusiastic in purging toxins from within and the individual struggling to take in enough food and water.

Growth

The Red Moon Blooms grow in rings wrapping around either stagnant and still waters, like recurring large puddles, or around old grown trees. Mages specializing in plants and fungi have reported that the Blooms do not steal life away from the old trees or the puddles of water, but instead draw life out of the otherwise decay or lack of life.

Harvest

The blooming effect only occurs under the full Red Moon, though the specific reasons are uncertain. It is commonly believed the moon casts a red light the other two overpower when they are not in their New Moon phase, though those nights are not consistently clear every cycle and the mushrooms are still safe to harvest under a clear or stormy night.