Dusk Cap

Dusk Cap is a mushroom crop that grows only in darkness, in a carbon dioxide atmosphere, and within a temperature range of 5 °C to 35 °C. A wild Dusk Cap takes 30 cycles to grow, while a domesticated one matures in 7.5 cycles. It also provides 15 decor in a 2-tile radius, making it a modest decorative plant as well as a food source.

It can be planted in a Planter Box, a Farm Tile, or a Hydroponic Farm, and it must be fertilized with 4 kg/cycle of Slime. Slime infected with Slimelung does not pass the germ to the plant or to the harvested crop, so contaminated slime can still be used safely for farming. Because the crop requires both darkness and carbon dioxide, it is usually best placed in enclosed mushroom farms or other sealed, unlit rooms.

A mature Dusk Cap produces 2400 kcal of Mushroom, which can be eaten directly or cooked into higher-quality meals. Mushroom can be processed at the Electric Grill into Fried Mushroom, then further upgraded at the Gas Range into Mushroom Wrap. This makes Dusk Cap one of the more flexible food crops in the game, since it supports both simple calorie production and morale-focused cooking chains.

• Mushroom: 2400 kcal
• Fried Mushroom: 2800 kcal, +1 Morale
• Mushroom Wrap: 4800 kcal, +4 Morale

In terms of food efficiency, a single Dusk Cap produces enough Mushroom to support roughly 2.68 duplicants if the crop is being turned into Fried Mushroom, or about 1.57 duplicants if it is being turned into Mushroom Wrap. The Mushroom Wrap recipe also requires Waterweed, so the higher-morale meal depends on maintaining an additional crop line.

Dusk Cap farms are often paired with Puft ranching, since Pufts can supply a steady source of Slime. One wild Puft can sustain about 3 Dusk Caps, while a tamed Puft can support about 12, making slime production the limiting factor rather than crop space once the farm is established.