Capital Wasteland plants

While most plants have long since died or have become petrified, interesting fungi growth dots the Wasteland. Some of the more prevalent forms of growth are the green, glowing mushrooms and what looks like a mass of brains. The only place in the Wasteland that is reachable with living trees is Oasis, but even then, the plants seem to be the children of a freak mutation of a plant that came in contact with FEV.

List of Fungi
While none have specific names, they have been named upon their characteristics. If name does not seem accurate to the scientific folk, feel free to change the names.

Glow Shrooms
Glow shrooms are the green glowing mushrooms that were mentioned above. Often found within caves or near sites of radiation proposing the idea that the mushrooms can withstand radiation.

Brain Fungi
Brain fungus appears to be a fungus that looks like a mass of brains. It is possible that it is in fact brain matter because when it is attacked by a weapon, a Ripper especially, blood flies everywhere. Possibly a combination of a fungus and brain matter like Harold and Bob were combined.

Cave Fungus
Cave Fungus is known only to be found in the caves of Little Lamplight. While the exact location of where the fungus grows has never been documented by the Lone Wanderer, it is a medicinal fungus and is used extensively by the children of Little Lamplight. The fungus is believed to have grown out of the bodies of deceased adults within the caves. The fungus thrives off of Strange Meat which is basically human meat. The medicinal properties of the fungus is that it soaks up radiation and replenishes lost health. It also acts as a food source for the children, but it supposedly does not taste very good. Cave fungus is eaten on a spit.

Children of Bob
Harold and Bob are plant and human combined by FEV. They possess the quality of an extremely resistant strain of plant that can grow almost anywhere. Bob is suggested as being sentient by Harold, this provides a humorous scenario if one uses their imagination to make up a world of sentient plant life. They are found in Oasis which is bustling in life from Bob's children. Bob's Children look nothing like Bob and take the appearance of a generic tree. It may be possible that the trees will eventually evolve and become different species of plants, but this has yet to happen. If the FEV has the same effect on Bob and Harold as it does the Super Mutants, then it is not out of the question that Bob will become significantly larger and more evolved like the transformation of Super Mutants to Super Mutant Behemoths. Bob's children may spread across the Capital Wasteland as it is an option for the Lone Wanderer to choose during the Oasis quest line. There are 4 kinds of plants in Oasis. These include:
 * Trees: Probably the most striking element in Oasis. They are your standard living green and photosynthesizing tree with leaves ranging from a deep green to a yellowish green.
 * Shrubs: These are the living equivalent of the shrubs found in the Wasteland.
 * Ferns: What at first looked like grass are really ferns considering the way they look.
 * Moss: In Oasis, the ground is covered in moss.

Flowers
While living plant life is a rarity in the Wasteland, there are several flowers popping up from the soil (or in vases) around the Capital Wasteland. However the majority of these flowers are in human dwellings and are mostly just for decoration. However, in the Arlington Cemetery, there are three healthy flowers poking out of the soil. There are 3 types of flowers so far:
 * Pansies: A cluster of 3-4 purple/white pansies with a few leaves.
 * Daffodils: Long, slender leaves with 2-3 trumpet shaped yellow flowers.
 * Hollyhock: A spire of pink flowers with a few leaves at the base.

Petrified Trees
While not living anymore, as far as we know, they are at least 150 years old (150 years because it is unknown whether or not the radiation instantly petrified the trees or slowly killed them). Three Dog mentions that the trees are in fact dead when he vaguely mentions Oasis in one of his radio broadcasts. They provide no benefits to the Wasteland except cover when in fights, scenery while roaming the Capital, and a reminder of life prior to the war. There are 4 varieties of petrified trees to date:
 * Regular: A trunk with a mass of leafless branches.
 * Pine: A spire of leafless branches.
 * Willow: Drooping low hanging branches.
 * Mangrove: Lots of roots with thin trunks and a few branches.

Dead Grass/Ferns
Grass killed by nuclear fallout. The grass that remains is used as food by Brahmin, though it gives very little nutritional value considering that it has been stewing in radiation for hundreds of years. The grass, used in the right way, can be a valuable asset to sneak characters. It offers, however, no protection, so you would need a very high perception in order to see the enemy and hide before they put a bullet/missile through your face.

Dead Bushes
Most appear dead and they serve the same purpose as the Petrified Trees and the Grass. The bushes provide little cover from fighting, but they do prove themselves a nuisance in VATS as they will cause hit percentages to drop to 0% even if the enemy is standing 5 feet away from you.

Dead Cattails
Point Lookout is mostly swampland, however due to the nuclear fallout, even without the direct impact of atomic bombs, living plant life is a rarity. Dead Cattails serve the same function as grass and are just scenery.

Mutfruit
There are only 2 types of Mutfruit (which is a shortened version of Mutated Fruit): Crunchy and Regular. Crunchy Mutfruit looks like a blue bloated version of a raspberry (it could also have previously been grapes) and Mutfruit looks like a brown peach with some glowing red-pink patches (it may have previously been peaches). The only source of Mutfruits is through traders and some stores, and have never been found growing in the wild.

Black RadVines
Covering many building interiors and exteriors in Point Lookout are what appear to be strange leafless vines that cover many structures in Point Lookout, such as the interior walls of Blackhall Manor.

Punga Fruit
In Point Lookout, the only living plant life are the strange punga. They come in 2 varieties, wild and refined. Both grow from strange brownish-green plants that dot Point Lookout. It is unknown what plant they previously were.

Fresh fruits and vegetables
The fresh fruit and vegetables of the wasteland can be found in the Arlington Public Library beside a trash can in a bathroom and in the Science Lab at Rivet City, which are closely guarded by the scientists. After relocating the research team to the Jefferson Memorial during The Waters of Life, the fresh fruits and vegetables are left unattended and are easily taken, though it is still stealing and results in Negative Karma. Even if The Replicated Man has not been completed, Dr. Zimmer and his guard will not interfere. Dialogue with various characters throughout Rivet City reveals that they have a hydroponics lab which is likely the source of the produce. In which case, the scientists have been engineering pre-war plants to grow with their roots systems in purified water rather than the irradiated soil of the Wasteland.

Simulated Plants
These plants only exist in simulations.

Pine Trees
2 varieties exist: The living kind found in Tranquility Lane and the dormant kind in Operation: Anchorage. Both are a tower of branches and pine needles.

Outlook of the Wasteland
While Humanity and Mother Earth's greatest bet for the repopulation of flora within the Capital Wasteland lies with Bob, it may be possible that with Project Purity being a success, that plant life may naturally return. The existence of fruit and vegetables hint that farming may make a comeback. Future operations such as those at the Hilltop Farm Ruins may prove more successful as background radiation continues to decrease and purified water is more readily available. Though long abandoned, this location indicates that some knowledge of traditional agriculture may still remain. Only time will tell what the future for the Wasteland's flora is, and maybe it is not such a far-off idea that humanity will fix what they have broken.