Mycosia

Mycosia Flower

Mycosia is a green flower that grows successfully on only one known world, Andalusia. Hanse Davion famously paid vast sums in 3028 for freshly harvested true Mycosia blossoms for the bridesmaids' bouquets (the color of the flowers matching their green silk garments) to be shipped from Andalusia to Terra on a JumpShip command circuit so that they would arrive in time for his wedding to Melissa Steiner.

Mycosia pseudoflora

Davion's romantic gesture boosted demand for Mycosia flowers to the point where hundreds of scientists set on the difficult task of breeding a variant of the plant that would flower more often, in different colors, and on other worlds. In 3038 the New Avalon Institute of Science created Mycosia pseudoflora, which entered the commercial market two years later and became Melissa Steiner-Davion's trademark flower. She frequently wore at least one blossom, and several flowering plants would usually be present whenever she attended an important event.

Mycosia pseudoflora were pot plants of implicitly average size ("small plastic pots" are mentioned), grown in peat. Adding a flowering compound can make them bloom in full after two days, displaying brilliant green blossoms. The flowers were described as triangular in shape.

It was not explicitly mentioned whether Mycosia pseudoflora is derived from the original Mycosia flower through selective breeding, or if it was created by genetic engineering or similar means, and by extension, if those are the same species or if they should be regarded as different species.

The Dancing Joker famously used hidden explosive devices that were smuggled to her podium in Mycosia pseudoflora pods to assassinate Melissa Steiner-Davion on 19 June 3055 during a reception on Tharkad.

Notes

• Author Michael A. Stackpole, who introduced Mycosia and Mycosia pseudoflora through his BattleTech novels, also later mentioned a Mycosia flower in his Star Wars work. They make an appearance in the 1997 Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron issue #25 as a species of flower that was characterized by its pink petals and white beaded pistils.
• In BattleRun (a noncanonical, tongue-in-cheek April Fools gag product), Mycosia pseudoflora are an important plot device—an allergy to Mycosia is the only known weakness of Jonas Hadry, whom the players are supposed to stop from winning a tournament.

Bibliography

• BattleRun: Best Ever (noncanonical)
• Mycosia flower entry on Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki (noncanonical for BattleTech)
• Natural Selection
• Warrior: Riposte