Making plants for Scriptoria 🤷♀️ (yes I know mushrooms aren't plants)
Brocroom
(commonly called the Broccoli Mimic, False Sprout, or Death’s Broccoli)
Scientific Name: Fungus brassiciformis Family: Mycoillus (illusion-fungi)
Description
The Brocroom is a deadly mushroom that has evolved to mimic broccoli. At first glance, it looks like a healthy sprout, but upon closer inspection, several giveaways betray its fungal nature:
The cap is a single fused dome, bumpy to resemble broccoli florets.
The stalk is one solid piece, unlike true broccoli which has multiple branching stems.
It grows directly from the ground, rather than sprouting from a leafy stalk like true broccoli.
Its flesh is spongy and pale yellow, giving off a faint earthy but strangely bitter odor when cut.
Habitat & Biome
Common in fertile farmlands, damp forests, and abandoned gardens where it thrives in rich soil.
Most widespread in Austreim’s farmlands and Myrcadawn’s misty woods.
Often appears near real broccoli crops, further confusing children and the inexperienced.
Growth & Reproduction
Spore Pods: Hidden in the “cap” bumps; spores release when the surface is broken.
Growth Pattern: Sprouts rapidly after heavy rain, especially in soil that has been recently tilled or fertilized.
Season: Most common in late summer and autumn.
Toxicity
Highly poisonous: Ingesting even a small portion can cause violent stomach pain, seizures, and death within hours if untreated.
Contact hazard: Touching the cap is not dangerous, but spores inhaled in large amounts may cause dizziness or nausea.
Antidote: Rare herbal tinctures made from mint and Silverhorn can neutralize the toxins if administered quickly.
Important Identification Tips (taught to children in Scriptoria):
No branching stems – Real broccoli has many small stalks.
Sprouts from soil directly – Real broccoli grows on leafy plants, not straight from the dirt.
One-piece bumpy cap – Real broccoli is made of clustered florets, not a fused dome.
Texture test – Real broccoli is firm and fibrous, while Brocroom is spongy and damp.
Uses
Not edible.
Sometimes harvested by alchemists for its spores, which are used in poisons, sleeping powders, or diluted in potions that cause hallucinations.
In small, carefully prepared doses, the toxin can be converted into a numbing agent for surgeries.
Symbolism in Scriptoria
Often used in cautionary tales told to children: “Don’t eat what grows too fast or too easily.”
A common motif in farming communities, where it is seen as a test of wisdom and patience.