Glowbud Fennedible

This is an entry to 's Fennedible design contest!

Since I'm pretty bad at translating things onto paper, and far more suited to sculpture, I chose to fabricate this little guy in 3D. There's a fair amount of editing to the photo to get the right shadows/illumination.

It's made from regular non drying clay and painted in acrylics. the "bud" is painted in UV reactive paint and exposed to blacklight for the purpose of the photograph.

I found inspiration from a few places. I guess if I was to try to explain it without the aid of pictures, I'd have to call it the mutant lovechild of a mushroom, a pitcherplant, an anglerfish and a pork bun.

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Name: Glowbud

Location: generally in dark caves

Rarity: very common in constantly dark, undisturbed areas. can be very rarely seen naturally growing in dense forests.

Size: fairly small, about the size of a tomato. in rare cases they can grow to the size of a pumpkin.

Taste: the fleshy part has a sweet-sour taste, not too much unlike strawberries, but the texture is far more dry and fleshy. there is a slight peppery kick to the flavour due to the residual chemicals needed to trigger it's bioluminescence. the quantity of the chemical in the main body is very low and non fatal, though if eaten in very large quantities they can cause nausea. the "teeth" are actually just seeds, and while rather bitter raw, lose their bitterness if roasted seperatley, and become rather moreish. the "bud" is highly toxic due to the high chemical concentration that permits it's unique glow from which it is named.

Danger Level: low, only dangerous to insects and in rare cases small mammals.

Poisonous: partially, as mentioned before, the bud is fatally toxic, while the rest of the glowbud is only toxic if eaten in mass quantities.

Any extra traits: the glowbud's a carnivorous fennedible, luring small grubs, insects and the like with it's unusual lantern onto the stalk, which is sticky enough to hold it's prey in place. about once every fortnight the glowbud will retract it's stem and close up while it digests. rarer large glowbuds have been known to attract and digest small rodents. once a year the glowbud will shed it's "teeth" which are actually it's seeds. the glowbud isn't so much rooted as glued in place by waste emmissions which only serve to attract more food.

the glowbud is a welcome room-mate to anyone having to take shelter in a glowbud infested cave. they provide a comforting light to a weary traveller, a tasty treat to someone who knows how to prepare them, and lastly, a wonderful bug-catcher to keep those wreched biting insects in check.