Groan-Cap Mushroom
Common Names: Groan-Cap, Wailshroom, Mourner’s Cup, Lamentfungus
Uses:
- Medicinal: Distilled Groan-Cap extract is used by Dwarven healers as a mild sedative and cough suppressant. It's also believed to aid dreamless sleep.
- Culinary: Technically edible, but unpleasantly bitter and known to cause vivid nightmares if not properly prepared. Often used ceremonially in small quantities, or converted into an oil for use in the preparation of Stonebread and other foods.
- Alchemy: Spores are used in low-level hallucinogens and as a reagent in potions designed to commune with the dead or induce trance states.
- Funerary Rites: In some regions, Groan-Caps are intentionally planted on the graves of honored Dwarves. A groaning cap is seen as a sign the departed still lingers in memory—or perhaps spirit.
Legends & Superstition:
- The Lament of Stone-Kin: Dwarves say that when a Groan-Cap grows over a grave, the dead may have unspoken regrets.
- Warding Mushrooms: Some tomb-keepers cultivate Groan-Caps near crypt doors, believing their sound drives away looters and restless spirits.
- Ghost Mimics: A few believe that Groan-Caps are not mushrooms at all, but fungal avatars of lost souls.
Warnings:
- Prolonged exposure to dense Groan-Cap colonies has been linked to increased melancholy, whispers in the dark, and auditory hallucinations.
- In rare cases, spores have colonized weakened lung tissue, giving the afflicted an unearthly rasp in their breath. Dwarves call this condition "Mourner's Lung."
In Summary:
The Groan-Cap is more than a curiosity—it is a keystone decomposer, an emotional barometer, and a living memorial. While its groaning is disquieting, it reminds all who hear it of the close and constant relationship Dwarves maintain with death, legacy, and the deep.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Physical Description:
- Cap: Bulbous and asymmetrical, ranging in color from dull gray to bruised purple, with deep folds that resemble a furrowed brow or a pained expression.
- Gills: Pale and sponge-like, they pulse faintly when mature.
- Stalk: Short, thick, and rubbery. When bruised, it exudes a bitter-smelling milky sap.
- Height: 6 to 12 inches tall.
The Groan:
When the Groan-Cap reaches maturity—usually during periods of high humidity or seismic activity—it releases a loud, guttural groan as it discharges its spores. The sound:
- Echoes eerily in caverns, resembling a moaning voice.
- Has caused more than one unprepared spelunker to flee in terror.
- Is thought by some Dwarves to be the mushroom mourning the dead buried in the soil beneath it.
Scholars debate whether this is merely air forced through gill-like structures or if the fungus has developed a primitive way of communicating environmental stress.
Genetics and Reproduction
Spore Propagation:
- Spores are airborne and ejected in rhythmic pulses during groaning discharges.
- The spores are sticky and adhere to nearby surfaces, often colonizing rotting wood, grave moss, bones, and discarded tools.
- Under the right humidity, spores remain viable for decades, awaiting the right amount of ambient sorrow, humidity, and decay.
Ecology and Habitats
Primary Habitat:
- Cavern Depths: Prefers deep, moist cave systems rich in decaying organic matter and minerals.
- Grave Spoils: Grows most abundantly in old crypts, burial sites, ossuaries, and other death-rich environments where Dwarven remains have been buried in accordance with traditional rites.
- Mushroom Groves: Found within fungal farms of subterranean Dwarves, often cultivated carefully to regulate spore emissions.
Symbiotic Relationships:
- Has a symbiotic link with Cryptmoss, a type of moss that grows in Dwarven tombs. The moss provides micro-humidity and root warmth; the Groan-Cap offers shade and nutrients.
- Corpse Beetles are attracted to Groan-Cap colonies, feeding on their sap and helping to spread spores by burrowing into nearby graves.
- Some believe the Groan-Cap forms a rudimentary mycelial network, storing echoes of sound and memory across vast distances underground.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Soil and Nutrient Requirements:
- Requires decaying organic matter, especially bone dust, blood residue, and decomposing stone-flesh from ancient Dwarven burials.
- Thrives in calcium-rich soil—often linked to the mineral-heavy sediment around ancient Dwarven burial grounds.
- Groan-Caps will not grow in sterile or magically purified soil; in fact, they wither in holy ground, which has led some to speculate on a link between the fungus and lingering soul-essence.
Scientific Name
Mycohumoris lamenta
Geographic Distribution
Comments