On the Study of Fungi

[Ja-Kha'jay]

I came up with this idea while working on the Elsweyr Botany Book. Took me this long to get a draft. i posted it here rather than in the Elsweyr forums as i thought all you other mod projects might like to use it. Will upload the esp once the text is finalised, so constructive criticism is welcome. Some of the text is not factually correct. I tried to write it like someone in the middle ages. Anyhoo, what do you guys think?

On the study of Fungi
By Salvador and Jo?razadi.

Fungi, small plant-like creatures are found in almost every habitat imaginable. In Ta?agra the name for fungi is ?Naba-Shanjijri? which translates quite literally into ?Not a plant? testament to ancient Khajiit shaman who came up with the word. Fungi are found widespread across Tamriel from the frozen tundra of Skyrim to the scorching Ne-Quin-Al desert of the Elsweyr Confederacy. There are few who study these amazing little creatures, and fewer still realize the magical potential of each fungus. This volume is designed to aid the reader on studying these fascinating organisms.

There are at least four kinds of fungi obvious to the untrained eye. There are agarics, which form typical mushroom fruiting bodies. These often have gills or pores under the cap, though toothed mushrooms have been described. Cup fungi are harder to come by, and the Elf Cup is an example. This group also includes the birds-nest fungi. Another group are the pouch fungi which look like miniature clubs. Lastly there are the bizarre coral fungi, which look like their namesake, and come in all colors.

In the field, one must be sure to collect the entire fruiting body of the fungus. In the case of agarics like Fly Amanita, a sharp knife may be used to dig under the stalk, exposing the bulbous base. Cup fungi are often firmly attached to whatever substrate they are growing on, and this must be taken as well. However, if the fungus is growing on a rock, this is out of the question, if the stone is fairly large. Coral fungi are simple to collect, as they are generally not well attached to their substrate, and do not have a bulbous base.

In order to identify the fungus, the reader must learn a small amount about the anatomy of a fungus. The cap is the top of the fungus is the most colorful part. The cap is the uppermost part of the fungus, and can have warts, otherwise known as the remnants of the universal veil. The universal veil is what encases the fungus before it sprouts above the ground. Another important feature is the stipe, or stem. The stipe may be smooth, striated or even striated. An annulus may be present on the stipe, which is also a remnant of the universal veil. Finally the fungus might have a bulbous base.

Spore colour is also important for identifying fungi. In order to see the spore color, the reader must remove the stipe of the fungus, and place the cap gill-side down on a piece of white parchment. Place a cup over the fungus and leave it over night. In the morning, carefully remove the cup and cap, making sure not to disturb the spores. Use some sort of spray resin to glue the spores to the parchment.

In order to visualize the finer features of the fungus the reader must obtain either a Dwemer lens from Morrowind or Hammerfell, or a S?rha lens from Elsweyr. Both these ancient races observed the stars and had mastered the art of lens grinding before their mysterious demises.

A brief description of the identifying features of some fungi follow.

Amanita species are identified by the warts on their cap, which are remnants of the universal veil, as is the annulus, midway up the stipe. Amanits are poisonous and must not be eaten.

Entoloma species commonly have a very conical cap, and their stipes frequently have twisting striations. Their spores are almost always pink.

Polypores have pores instead of gills and are commonly found growing from tree trunks or logs. There may or may not be a stipe, but if present it is usually near the edge of the cap, joining the polypore to its substrate.



[edit by the dean: green ticks are the province of the editor - you've been a member of this faculty long enough to know this Doctor Ja-Kha'jay.]

[IAMTHEEMPEROR]

Hmm, some positive and negative criticism...

Firstly, great job on this one. It is clearly listed, and it tells a lot of information.

However, some of this seems too modern for elder scrolls. They don't have spray resin, and I don't think they would know the word "universal veil".

A few things to fix:

1."The stipe may be smooth, striated or even striated"-Striated is listed twice
2."The cap is the top of the fungus is the most colorful part. The cap is the uppermost part of the fungus, and can have warts,"-there are two sentences here describing the same thing, the first is a run on sentence-ish. You should fix these into one correct sentence.

Overall, this is really good. Fix the issues and it will be even better :goodjob:

[raggidman]

:goodjob: Would this be by your botanist and his wife?

hmmm: In order to visualize the finer features of the fungus...

Might be better to start this sentance: "To view the finer features" - removes a repetition and the action of visualisation is imagining really - 'scuse the nitpickin' ...

Will have to take time to consider this ... it is certainly an impressive start.

[Ja-Kha'jay]

Thanks for pointing out the mistakes. I just about kicked myself when you pointed them put as they are really obvious. I removed the too modern words, spray resin does seem silly, guess i must have been thinking of Green-anti-noobs hair spray (have you seen his avatar?). MAnaged to find a spelling error too which i corrected. And sorry to step on your toes Dean. And you'd be right, it is by the botanist and his wife. Anyway an updated version:

On the study of Fungi .
By Salvador and Jo?razadi.

Fungi, small plant-like creatures are found in almost every habitat imaginable. In Ta?agra the name for fungi is ?Naba-Shanjijri? which translates quite literally into ?Not a plant? testament to ancient Khajiit shaman who came up with the word. Fungi are found widespread across Tamriel from the frozen tundra of Skyrim to the scorching Ne-Quin-Al desert of the Elsweyr Confederacy. There are few who study these amazing little creatures, and fewer still realize the magical potential of each fungus. This volume is designed to aid the reader on studying these fascinating organisms.

There are at least four kinds of fungi obvious to the untrained eye. There are agarics, which form typical mushroom fruiting bodies. These often have gills or pores under the cap, though toothed mushrooms have been described. Cup fungi are harder to come by, and the Elf Cup is an example. This group also includes the birds-nest fungi. Another group are the pouch fungi which look like miniature clubs. Lastly there are the bizarre coral fungi, which look like their namesake, and come in all colors.

In the field, one must be sure to collect the entire fruiting body of the fungus. In the case of agarics like Fly Amanita, a sharp knife may be used to dig under the stalk, exposing the bulbous base. Cup fungi are often firmly attached to whatever substrate they are growing on, and this must be taken as well. However, if the fungus is growing on a rock, this is out of the question, if the stone is fairly large. Coral fungi are simple to collect, as they are generally not well attached to their substrate, and do not have a bulbous base.

In order to identify the fungus, the reader must learn a small amount about the anatomy of a fungus. The cap is the uppermost part of the fungus, and can have warts, otherwise known as the remnants of the sack-like structure which encases the fungus before it sprouts above the ground. Another important feature is the stipe, or stem. The stipe may be smooth, striated or even slimy. An annulus may be present on the stipe, which is also a remnant of the universal veil. Finally the fungus might have a bulbous base.

Spore colour is also important for identifying fungi. In order to see the spore color, the reader must remove the stipe of the fungus, and place the cap gill-side down on a piece of white parchment. Place a cup over the fungus and leave it over night. In the morning, carefully remove the cup and cap, making sure not to disturb the spores. Use some sort of glue to fix the spores to the parchment.

To view the finer features of the fungus the reader must obtain either a Dwemer lens from Morrowind or Hammerfell, or a S?rha lens from Elsweyr. Both these ancient races observed the stars and had mastered the art of lens grinding before their mysterious demises.

A brief description of the identifying features of some fungi follow.

Amanita species are identified by the warts on their cap, as well as an annulus, midway up the stipe. Amanitas are poisonous and must not be eaten.

Entoloma species commonly have a very conical cap, and their stipes frequently have twisting striations. Their spores are almost always pink.

Polypores have pores instead of gills and are commonly found growing from tree trunks or logs. There may or may not be a stipe, but if present it is usually near the edge of the cap, joining the polypore to its substrate.

[raggidman]

I love it, and it works as a research doc, so I hate to ask this, but is there some in-game fungus effect/properties hint that might tie in?

[Ja-Kha'jay]

such as the Fly Amanitas Burden and Shock Damage effect as a reason not to eat them?

[raggidman]

yummy :eek: :poorme: = :O = :goodjob: :]

[Ja-Kha'jay]

Yeah Amanitas are nasty. There are two main ones you hear about: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria), which causes nausea, euphoria and hallucinations among other things, and the Death Cap (Amanita phalloides) which causes...well... death as its name suggests. As for an update, added some alchemical data and another species of interest

On the study of Fungi .
By Salvador and Jo?razadi.

Fungi, small plant-like creatures are found in almost every habitat imaginable. In Ta?agra the name for fungi is ?Naba-Shanjijri? which translates quite literally into ?Not a plant? testament to ancient Khajiit shaman who came up with the word. Fungi are found widespread across Tamriel from the frozen tundra of Skyrim to the scorching Ne-Quin-Al desert of the Elsweyr Confederacy. There are few who study these amazing little creatures, and fewer still realize the magical potential of each fungus. This volume is designed to aid the reader on studying these fascinating organisms.

There are at least four kinds of fungi obvious to the untrained eye. There are agarics, which form typical mushroom fruiting bodies. These often have gills or pores under the cap, though toothed mushrooms have been described. Cup fungi are harder to come by, and the Elf Cup is an example. This group also includes the birds-nest fungi. Another group are the pouch fungi which look like miniature clubs. Lastly there are the bizarre coral fungi, which look like their namesake, and come in all colors.

In the field, one must be sure to collect the entire fruiting body of the fungus. In the case of agarics like Fly Amanita, a sharp knife may be used to dig under the stalk, exposing the bulbous base. Cup fungi are often firmly attached to whatever substrate they are growing on, and this must be taken as well. However, if the fungus is growing on a rock, this is out of the question, if the stone is fairly large. Coral fungi are simple to collect, as they are generally not well attached to their substrate, and do not have a bulbous base.

In order to identify the fungus, the reader must learn a small amount about the anatomy of a fungus. The cap is the uppermost part of the fungus, and can have warts, otherwise known as the remnants of the sack-like structure which encases the fungus before it sprouts above the ground. Another important feature is the stipe, or stem. The stipe may be smooth, striated or even slimy. An annulus may be present on the stipe, which is also a remnant of the universal veil. Finally the fungus might have a bulbous base.

Spore colour is also important for identifying fungi. In order to see the spore color, the reader must remove the stipe of the fungus, and place the cap gill-side down on a piece of white parchment. Place a cup over the fungus and leave it over night. In the morning, carefully remove the cup and cap, making sure not to disturb the spores. Use some sort of glue to fix the spores to the parchment.

To view the finer features of the fungus the reader must obtain either a Dwemer lens from Morrowind or Hammerfell, or a S?rha lens from Elsweyr. Both these ancient races observed the stars and had mastered the art of lens grinding before their mysterious demises.

A brief description of the identifying features of some fungi follow.

Amanita species are identified by the warts on their cap, as well as an annulus, midway up the stipe. They also have a bulbous base, very characteristic of the species. Amanitas are poisonous and must not be eaten, due to their potent burden and shock damage effects..

Entoloma species commonly have a very conical cap, and their stipes frequently have twisting striations. Their spores are almost always pink. Many Entoloma varieties are poisonous, often having burden and frost damage effects.

Polypores have pores instead of gills and are commonly found growing from tree trunks or logs. There may or may not be a stipe, but if present it is usually near the edge of the cap, joining the polypore to its substrate.

Tippler?s Bane, or Ink Cap, is easily identified by the inky black fluids made by the fungus as it decays. Its stipe is often grey, and smooth. As its name suggests Tippler's Bane should not be consumed along side alcohol, as it causes extreme discomfort and vomiting.

editor's privilege by rm: This is clearly such a learned document that reading this increases your Alchemy skill by 1pt and your Int by 1pt

[raggidman]

What can I say Dr Ja-Kha'jay, you work inspires - I just couldn't help myself - :bananarock:

The Tippler's Bane might be added as a sort of margin note - as if someone was working on the document, and having a thought that did not quite fit and no spare paper, they penciled it in. That would make this contents of a notebook perhaps?

[Ja-Kha'jay]

Like this? Though maybe I should put a comment in brackets saying it is in the margins. Also the editor doesn't like the apostrophe in Jo'razadi.

Ja-Kha'jay has attached this image (reduced version):