Should you worry about Floor Fungus in Dwarf Fortress? Answered

Just like your fortress grows and evolves in Dwarf Fortress, so does the natural world around you. All sorts of things can grow both above and below the surface of the game world, and it’s important to know the dangers and benefits of all of them to fully optimize your base. When you dig new caverns, you might come across yellowish-green growths spreading around the new rooms. This is Floor Fungus and you might wonder if it’s dangerous for your base and what you can do with it. Let’s take a look.

Related: How to get food in Dwarf Fortress

Is Floor Fungus dangerous in Dwarf Fortress?

Floor Fungus is another type of floor tile growth in Dwarf Fortress and is a cousin to basic grass and an even closer cousin to Cave Moss. It can grow and spread from newly dug caverns as soon as it has a connection with the air, meaning the entrance to your hold. It looks a lot like Cave Moss but is recognizable by its more yellowish color. You can stop its growth by cutting or burning it, but it actually isn’t dangerous to your dwarves or to your fortress. There are no negative effects from having Floor Fungus in your base. In fact, there is a way that you can use it to your benefit.

What to do with Floor Fungus in Dwarf Fortress

You can use Floor Fungus to feed your livestock and plant-eating animals. To do that, construct a Pasture by zoning the area with the fungus and marking it as Pen/Pasture from the Zone menu. Next, you can assign the animals that you want to graze on Floor Fungus to that Pasture and now you have a new source of food for them. However, note that Floor Fungus grows at a slower rate than the usual grass, so some of the larger grazing animals might run out of food if they eat the Floor Fungus exclusively.