Wolf Fur

A medicinal fungus

This article was written for Summer Camp 2024. Therefore it is unpolished and lacking formatting and information. Feel free to comment with any questions or requests for clarification.

The wolf fur fungus is endemic to the forests of Sarsand, where it grows on fallen, rotting trees and dead wood. It grows in large patches formed of soft, fur-like bristles, which is how it gets its name; unlike a wolf, however, the fungus is pale yellow in colour, though it turns white as it ages. It is an extremely fast growing fungus, spreading up to an inch per day, and sometimes more when the weather is particularly damp. Patches growing on the same log are usually part of the same organism, connected beneath the surface by a tangled web of fine hair-like mycellium.
Wolf fur has an unusually high nutritional content for its size, with half a pound of the fungus a day being enough to sustain an adult human. Generally, they are used medicinally in the form of fortifying broths to nurse a person through sickness so that they do not lose too much weight. These broths are also used in cases of severe malnutrition. They are made by boiling the fungus in water for several hours, with perhaps a sprinkle of salt if the recipient is lucky.
Despite their nutritional benefits, the fungi are not used as part of everyday cuisine as they have an unpleasant flavour and mouthfeel. The flavour has been described as similar to sucking a dirty sock, whilst the mouthfeel is unsettlingly squishy. The smell, however, is pleasantly earthy with a hint of petrichor.