Nick Sept
Worst Ghost in the Galaxy
Image Credit: http://magickcanoe.com/blog/2007/04/09/strange-and-wonderful-worlds/, a travel blog. I basically just google "weird lichen" and got this. Neat.
Name: Bespin Hanging Lichen, pejoratively called "Hangar Lichen" by many dutiful fungus removal and cleaning people in the Life Zone on Bespin.
Homeworld: Originally from Bespin, but it would be possible to grow it in a greenhouse or other similar contrivance.
Development Thread: Removed per request.
Average Measurements: The "flowers" of any given plant are about 15-20 centimeters long, blooming off a "carpet" like net work of mossy roots that is no thicker than two centimeters, but can grow to encompass several square meters. The largest root network ever found was underneath Cloud City's sewage refinery station, with an area of nearly 4 square kilometers.
Cultivation Requirements: It grows in a relatively normal m1 atmosphere, however, it is specifically adapted to the residue of Tibanna Gase refinement on Bespin, and fixes nitrogen from Tibanna waste-products (mainly benzonitrile) in order to "flower." When in an environment with proper nitrates, dead plant matter, and sufficient humidity, the root network can grow up to 20 centimeters per day.
Strengths:
Fat-bonded: When cooked, hangar fungus bonds to the fat in other items, allowing it heavily flavor fattier cuts of meat and dairy. It typically has a sweet taste, reminiscent of honey but slightly more metallic, but can instead be smoked during preparation to create a flavor that is both smoky and woody.
Pretty: The bright red polyps can be used to create dyes with a reddish tinge. Lando Calrissian was said to dye some of his cloaks red with Hangar Fungus oil, at least in the last holo-adaptation of his life story, Winning at Everything: The Life of Lando.
Smells great: It makes for a decent perfume aromatic, adding a slight smell that is flowery like nectar, but not overpowering.
It'll grow on you: Once it's able to sink roots into some plant matter, it will start crawling wherever it can find more nitrates. This is both a plus and a minus, as it spreads fast after it's gotten in, but it will exclude other crops, and structures, if your not careful.
Weaknesses:
Fungi are weird: You can't just plant this stuff in a field. It has to be cultivated around deposits of post-refining benzonitrile-soaked decaying plant-life. Not impossible to make yourself, but it takes a good deal of effort if you don't operate a Tibanna refining facility.
Gunk every-where: Hangar Lichen is a crawling plant, it will grow past most containment if not checked carefully.
Fire bad: Ugnauts on space stations have perfected a removal technique to prevent it from gunking up important components. Basically, the best way to kill it is cover it in ethanol and light it on fire. You can then sweep away the withered vines.
Distinctions: The fungus is short, and like most fungi, thrives in damp areas. It's smell is a mixture of almonds and honey from a distance, and it has a tendency to attract large amounts of insects.
Average Growth Cycle: A month of three, typically.
Average Life: The red buds (the useful bit) usually are harvestable for about a month or or two. However, the root network itself has a theoretically indefinite lifespan, where it replaces itself of time.
Nutritional Value: It's more flavoring/seasoning than anything else--you'd need to eat like three pounds of it to get significant caloric value. However, nutritionally, it's mildly sugary and has some capsaicin in it.
History: It is commonly believed that the spores of the original plant that would become hangar fungus came accidentally with colonists to Bespin. At first, the majority of station managers on Cloud city and other ares found it a massive inconvenience, and still do, to some extent. However, chemists and cooks have found uses for it over the years, and several chefs and luxury good makers now manufacture dye, oil and food from it, billing it as an "Exotic" good. Never waste a crisis, after all.
Currently, there are no professional cultivators of the fungus, and outside of Bespin, the crop's usefulness is little known or discussed. NC-0739, Now Known as Nick Sept, got drunk one weekend and tried to cook with the stuff, finding it made for excellent steak seasoning.
Intent: It's a spice. It could be used to make a great barbecue sauce, a moderately unique liquor, or some amazing steaks.
