Bristle Berry

Bristle Berry is a harvestable food item produced by Bristle Blossom. Each mature plant yields 1 unit of Bristle Berry, worth 1600 kcal. It is primarily associated with domestic farming, though wild Bristle Blossoms also produce it after a longer growth cycle.

Bristle Berry can be eaten directly, but it is also a key ingredient in several cooked foods and drinks. The standard plant is one of the earliest renewable calorie sources that can be farmed indoors, and it is especially useful because its crop can be grown in controlled agricultural setups rather than relying on hunting or harvesting from the map.

Bristle Blossom requires light to grow and is normally cultivated in a Planter Box, Farm Tile, or Hydroponic Farm. Hydroponic Farm is generally the most efficient option because it accepts irrigation and supports stable production. A domesticated plant takes 6 cycles to grow, while a wild plant takes 24 cycles. The plant grows only within a temperature range of 5–30 °C and in an atmosphere of Oxygen, Polluted Oxygen, or Carbon Dioxide with sufficient pressure.

Bristle Berry is used in several recipes:

• Gristle Berry: cooked in an Electric Grill from Bristle Berry.
• Berry Sludge: cooked in a Microbe Musher from Bristle Berry.
• Stuffed Berry: made from Gristle Berry, not directly from Bristle Berry.
• It can also be used to make a drink in the Juicer.

These recipes make Bristle Berry a flexible mid-game crop. Gristle Berry and Berry Sludge both extend its usefulness as a calorie source, while Stuffed Berry turns the food chain into a higher-quality meal with improved morale benefits. Berry Sludge in particular is notable because it increases food quality to Good and requires additional Sleet Wheat.

A few practical notes:

• Because Bristle Blossom needs light, farms are often paired with Shine Bugs or artificial lighting.
• Lamps, Ceiling Lights, and Sun Lamps produce heat, so careless lighting can overheat the crop over time.
• Bristle Blossom is also one of the domesticated plants that can be grown for composting purposes, since it turns pure water into dirt.
• Duplicants with the Allergic Reaction trait should be kept away from Bristle Blossom farms, since fully grown plants can generate Floral Scent germs in nearby gas.

The crop’s calorie output makes it easy to estimate staffing needs: a single Bristle Blossom yields enough raw calories for part of a duplicant’s daily food requirement, and its cooked variants provide much stronger efficiency depending on the recipe used.