Deepshroom
As Bulbus salmacidus range expanded further away from Aliona and into the deeper waters of zone 10, the concentration of salt increases and light becomes limiting. The deepshroom (Bulbus hypokeanus) has specialized to live in these conditions.
Unlike other bulb species, the photosynthetic red-orange pigmented layer grows thicker to absorb the more abundant blue light in deeper waters while the blue and green layers have receded as longer wavelengths are seldom found in deeper depths. To deal with the higher salt concentrations, it not only hold higher amounts of salt in its cells, but also pumps ions through the pores on its bulb, which, in combination with the lower light conditions, causes it grows more slowly than its ancestors, taking 5 to 10 weeks to fully mature. The bulb is 17-20cm in diameter for surface area maximization while the stem grows up to 27-30cm in height with a slight reduction in stem width and bulb height. The deepshroom reproduces identically to its and ancestor; it’s spore pods detaching with age and being carried off by the currents/sinking into the substrate.