Nấmuke

Basic Information

Anatomy

The nấmuke is a small, lime green mushroom with a flat head and narrow stem.

Growth Rate & Stages

Once the nấmuke spores find their way to a host plant, the mushroom begins to grow in as little as a day and begins its feeding process. In the first 24-48 hours the mushroom is no more than a small bump on the surface of the host plant, but it takes no more than four days after the initial latching process for it to grow to its full size and shape.

Ecology and Habitats

Nấmuke grows only on other vegetation. It thrives best on flowers, sprouting from both their stems and the undersides of their petals, but it can also make its home on the trunks of trees, the leaves of vines, and various other jungle vegetation. The fungus grows best in tropical or sub-tropical areas and shrivels in cold areas.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The nấmuke absorbs the nectar, sap, or other juices of its host vegetation, sometimes to the point of starving its host, and itself by extension.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The main use for nấmuke is to produce poisons and, in theory, antidotes. When the skin of the fungus is broken, a poisonous sap leeches out; when touched, this sap makes its way through the victim's skin into their bloodstream, where it infects the blood and causes a slow and painful death.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Nấmuke is found primarily in Virilia, but also on its neighboring islands.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Nấmuke feeds off of whatever plants it grows from.

Lifespan

100 years

Conservation Status

Most people don't go out of their way to protect the nấmuke, but they do conserve it as a side effect of avoiding it and its poisonous properties. There are botanists, herbalists, and less savory characters who intentionally preserve the fungus for study and experimentation. A few go so far as to farm it.

Average Height

1/4-1/2 inch.