Viātrīx purpurea
Purple traveler
(grandmother shroom, cough killer)
X
7-10cm
Saprotrophic; uses roots to feed.
Swamps or bogs.
Has a purple cap over purple-brown stime. The stime is lined with creases that give the impression of wrinkles. A widened, snout-like, area of the stime holds the eyes. The cap and “snout” have sporadic darker purple-pink spots.
They walk.
When alarmed can release a cloud of deadly poison-cells in a “deadly cough.”
Their preferred habitat can be dangerous. Watch out for sinkholes.
Viātrīx purpurea are small sentient mushrooms with bipedal appearance and fungi biology. Their limbs are temporary splits in the stime, created when they want to move and at least partly merge after they settle. The “legs” do not have good balance, having no bones or clear feet, and the Viātrīx purpurea tend to wobble quite a bit in moving. The “arms” do not have fingers, and only serve to support the body from falling as they walk. Once settled, the legs, and something the arms too, are buried in the ground where their roots can develop further.
Viātrīx purpurea are an all-female species that reproduces by splitting. When a Viātrīx purpurea reaches approx. 10m in hight, they begin to widen. After passing 5cm in width, a split begins to occur. Usually, one half of the Viātrīx purpurea remains at their settled spot, while the other half walks off to find a new spot.
What seems to be their mouth is in fact a release opening for their poison-cells. The cells are released in a cloud when the Viātrīx purpurea is agitated, accompanied by a cough-like sound. For a long time, these poison cells were mistaken for spores. It was only in the 18th century that the Viātrīx purpurea split reproduction method was observed .
