Mirth Leaf

Mirth Leaf is a flowering plant that spreads Floral Scent germs into nearby gases when it blooms. It is part of the set of plants that can contaminate an area with this germ, alongside Bristle Blossoms and Buddy Buds. In practice, it is most relevant anywhere germ control matters, since nearby air can become seeded with Floral Scent rather than remaining clean.

Its bloom cycle is the key to its behavior: Bristle Blossoms only spread Floral Scent while blooming, and Buddy Buds are also listed among the sources that spread the germ in nearby gases. A slime, Mirth Leaf, and deodorizer setup can be used to produce slimelung-free oxygen, because polluted oxygen generated by slime in a Floral Scent atmosphere does not contain Slimelung and instead carries Floral Scent germs.

Floral Scent itself has a temperature range of -10°C to 100°C and a pressure range of 0 kg to 1000 kg. It is disinfected by solid, gas, oxygen, and liquid environments, though in practice it dies off much faster in Polluted Oxygen than in Oxygen, which makes Polluted Oxygen especially effective at reducing it. Infection chances are strictly binary and are not affected by immune-boosting effects.

A few practical points are worth keeping in mind:

• Duplicants with the Allergic trait suffer +15% stress per cycle and +10 sneeziness from exposure, while everyone else gets -5% stress per cycle for the short duration listed by the germ effect.
• Allergic reactions can be prevented for 720 seconds with Allergy Medication from an Apothecary.
• The same medication can also cure the condition, and bleach stone can mitigate it.
• Because the germ spreads through nearby gases, containment and ventilation are important if Mirth Leaf is grown near living areas.

The plant is mainly useful as part of germ-management setups or decorative farming arrangements where its interaction with Floral Scent is desirable rather than harmful.