Weeping Fungus

Weeping fungi are a small species of fungus found deep in forests in Aekor and Trecath. They are a bright purple, growing in large clumps, famous for its spores causing sudden and immense weeping in any traveler unlucky enough to get close to them.

Anatomy

The cap resembles Earth's button mushrooms, except the leathery skin is instead a bright purple, with ever so lighter flecks in it. The rim of the cap bends inwards, hiding the gills.

The gills are very thin, and they rotate in a slight clockwise curve to the edge of the cap in a spiral pattern. The stem is thick, getting thicker at the base and is a pale purple, close to white. Small pores in the cap release the spores, which follow the wind and travel short distances.

Reproduction

During Uribar, the spores are a fertilised kind, meaning when the spores are released and bury themselves in ground, new mushrooms will grow. These spores will try to guide themselves through the wind to moister areas, around rotting logs or leaves which is better for the mushrooms.

It takes just a few days for the fungi to grow to their maximum height, about 5cm.

Biological Cycles

During winters the mushrooms appear a lighter purple, and in summers they are a darker. In summers they are also a lot larger, sometime reaching 6 or 7cm, whereas in winter they grow to a maximum of 3 to 4cm. The amount of spores released also depends on the seasons, in springs they release more spores and more grow.

Weeping fungi appear all year round, however they change in population season by season. Weeping fungi are most common in spring, when there is more wind. They are very rare in winter since the cold climates kills off most of them, but ones that have found a warm, moist area have a good chance of survival.

Uses

The weeping spores can be obtained by mages using a magnification spell, making the spores able to be caught in one's hands. Then using a magnification spell again, and you shrink the spores to go unnoticed. You can use the spores and put them in a small spray bottle, and use it on your opponent to make them cry, distracting them.

The spores released from the fungi year round can cause sudden weeping. As the spores fly through the wind unnoticeable, they can cross the path of a traveler. If they happen to breathe in the spores, some kind of unknown properties will cause the traveler to start crying out of nowhere. The weeping stops a few minutes after the spores disappear.

Habitat

These fungi nestle in and among rotting foliage, which they also eat. They absorb all the nutrients left over from the rotting fungi, which fills the fungi with nutrients and later on creatures that eat the fungi. They are essential in nutrient cycles, as are all fungi.

Weeping fungi grow in temperate forests in Trecath and Aekor. They grow in areas of shade, and prefer moister areas with rotting foliage, such as felled trees and logs, and rotting leaves.

Weeping Fungus Sketch by Amanda McRoberts

Lifespan

2 weeks

Average Height

5cm

Average Weight

2g

Geographic Distribution

• Aekor
• Greenerth
• Trecath

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