Encounter-a-Day

Sentry mushrooms are a small, pale blue fungus which grow well in dark, damp conditions. They get their name from the peculiar effect their spores have; those who breathe the spores of a sentry mushroom find themselves wracked with involuntary hiccups. Sentry mushrooms are often planted by subterranean races in order to warn of impending incursion, by making whoever is sneaking past them hiccup loudly.

Aside from making it difficult to remain silent, the spores of the sentry mushroom do not have any further effect. The hiccups tend to go away a few minutes after exposure to the mushrooms’ spores ends.