Botanist
Service
Botanist
- Access: Maintenance, Service, Hydroponics (+ Kitchen, Bar on certain stations)
- Difficulty: Easy
- Duties: Supply the Chef with all the produce they can carry. Mutate panacea plants to replace Medical. Overrun the station with Kudzu 10 minutes into the shift.
- Supervisors: Head of Personnel
- Subordinates: None
- Guides: This is the guide.
Hydroponics is the process of growing plants in nutrient-rich water solutions. Nanotrasen has standardized the use of state-of-the-art hydroponics technology across their many corporate outposts, and employees are encouraged to disregard any evidence that departments on some stations still include rudimentary soil mounds.
The Hydroponics department is the home of the station's Botanist, who has the extraordinary task of not only producing crops to feed the crew, but catering to the specific needs of the station's many departments and pushing the boundaries of agricultural science. Though any crew member may stop by Hydroponics, you can expect to see the Chef making visits to request ingredients, Cargo Department stopping by to task you with bounties to complete, and the occasional Chemist requesting medicinal herbs.
Equipment
A variety of different machines, tools, crates and chemicals can either be found within Hydroponics, or serve to aid the Botanists working there.
Machines
Image | Name | Usage |
---|---|---|
Contains spare clothing for Botanists to use, as well as some useful items like a Dropper, Plant Bag, and Sterile Swab Dispenser. | ||
An advanced machine capable of processing plants into biomass, which can then be printed into a variety of useful items. Allows Botany to use their excess produce to restock spent chemicals and aid the Chef in food preparation. Plants inserted into the Biogenerator will produce an amount of biomass equal to their nutriment content.
Be sure to insert a glass or beaker into the machine before printing liquids, or they'll splash all over the floor. | ||
Contains 10,000 units of liquid water, enough to keep your plants watered for an entire shift. | ||
Contains Hydroponics marked clothes, such as jumpsuits and bags, as well as various cosmetic items like hats, aprons and scarves. | ||
The heart and soul of Botany, these advanced trays allow the cultivation of any plant in the galaxy, with diagnostic systems that allow the user to easily identify a crop's needs. These needs are signaled through the various LED lights that blink on the tray's side; you can find their meaning in the Tray section.
| ||
Contains 3 to 5 of every common seed. | ||
Primarily used for Cooking, but also to dry out Tobacco, Cannabis, and Aloe into more useful items. Some stations have Microwaves already installed in Hydroponics, while on other stations you'll need to borrow the chef's. | ||
Dispenses all of the tools found in the Tools section, including Left-4-Zed when Emagged. | ||
The classic and much less responsive way of cultivating plants. You can still inspect it to check on nutrients and water saturation, but say goodbye to fancy lights and automatic warnings. | ||
Always found in the kitchen and/or Chemistry lab, although some Hydroponics departments are found with one. Can fit up to 6 materials and a glass, beaker, shaker or other container to process them in. All plants can be ground up to extract their inner chemicals (such as Vitamins and Nutriment). Some can be juiced to obtain specific juices. | ||
Insert a plant's produce into this machine to extract 1 to 3 seeds. Note that on all plants, you can also use Plant Clippers on the plant before you harvest it for a free seed packet. |
Hydroponics Tray
These interstellar-grade hydroponics systems are where a botanist typically spends most of their time. Examining a tray by ⇧ Shift + Left Click will reveal details about its current status, including its water and nutrient levels, the presence of weeds and the status of any plants currently in the tray.
Seeds can be planted in an empty hydroponics tray by clicking with a packet of seeds equipped. Once planted, the seeds will quickly sprout and begin to grow. While the plant is growing you can water it, use Robust Harvest to increase potency or fertilizer to increase the tray's Nutrients. When the plant is ready to harvest the hydroponics tray will show a green indicator . Most plants can be harvested by hand; some more ligneous plants, like Tower Caps, will require the use of a Hatchet. Some plants, such as Apple Trees, can survive multiple harvests. Others, such as Wheat, will need be replanted each time.
You can Examine a Hydroponics Tray to see its Water and Nutrients. Adding water will increase the Water count over time. Adding fertilizers will increase the Nutrient count over time. Over time, the water and nutrient count will fall if there is a plant in the tray.
Image | Position | Description |
---|---|---|
Ready for harvest. Left click to harvest. | ||
The plant in the tray is dead or dying. Use a spade to remove the dead plant matter, or attempt to save the dying plant. | ||
The environment is sub-optimal. Inspect the tray to determine the exact issue. If the tray is full of weeds, use a Mini Hoe to clear them out. If the issue is a problem with the atmosphere, temperature or pressure, and it seems to be effecting other plants, call an Engineer or Atmospheric Technician to find the problem. Remember that plant mutations can both change a plant's sensitivity to these factors AND that mutations can cause plants to generate dangerous gases. | ||
The tray is low on nutrients and requires fertilizer. EZ Nutriment is the easiest way to fertilize trays, but harvested produce can also be directly mulched into trays for fertilizer. More advanced methods, like Ammonia from Chemistry or large amounts of blended Nutriment from produce, also work well. | ||
The tray requires more water. Use a water bucket on the tray to refill it. |
Tools
Crates
A Botanist can request various Hydroponics oriented crates from Cargo Department. Most often you'll only be requesting Exotic Seeds Crates, you addict.
Name | Usage |
---|---|
Contains a total of 1000u of Plant-B-Gone. Completely overkill, unless the station resembles a singular mass of Kudzu. | |
The most common purchase a Botanist will request from Cargo. Contains 2 Bungo, Cannabis, Egg-Plant, Fly Amanita, Nettle, Tobacco, and Tower Cap seeds. Some of the seeds are technically contraband, but it's extraordinarly rare for anyone to bat an eye. | |
Contains the equivalent of a Hydroponics locker. Not a common purchase, everything inside can be purchased at the NutriMax or Hydrobe. | |
Contains 3 packets of Aloe, Ambrosia Vulgaris, Galaxythistle, Lingzhi, and Poppy seeds. | |
Contains a MegaSeed restock box to refill your department's MegaSeed Servitor. | |
Contains a NutriMax restock box to refill your department's Nutrimax. | |
Contains 12 generic seeds that are otherwise available in the MegaSeed Servitor. |
Plants & Seeds
Most seeds will be available in the MegaSeed Servitor, but some exotic seeds will need to either be purchased from Cargo or even mutated from existing seeds.
You can Examine a Seed to see its Yield and Potency.
Potency starts at 5 out of the Seed Extractor / Vending Machine but can be increased to 50 via 15u of Robust Harvest. Max potency is 100 and can only currently be achieved by mutating plants that already have 50 potency (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen). Potency affects the size of the plant and amount of chemicals it provides in the Reagent Grinder. For example, highly potent medical herbs break down into more medicine and can be eaten for more pronounced effect and higher number of bites. A higher potency in wheat equates to higher amounts of flour produced.
Yield differs by plant and can be modified by mutation (e.g. via Unstable Mutagen) or by swabbing from plants with different yields (Commonly, Apple Trees or Cocoa Trees are used to give other plants higher yields). Yield affects the number of plants that will be harvested when a planted seed has grown.
Plants can also be cross-pollinated with one another for a chance to transfer traits and other desirable properties. To transfer pollen from one plant to another, use a Sterile Swab. Avoid pollen cross-contamination! Different species can be crossed to produce hybrids. Since cross-pollination is also probabilistic, it may take several tries for you to transfer the traits that you desire.
Plant Name | Description | Plant Image | Produce Image |
---|---|---|---|
Produces aloe, which can be used to make aloe cream, or blended to make Dermaline and Aloe. Microwaved Aloe will turn into Aloe Cream, a topical medicine for treating burn damage. Aloe is vital to the creation of other advanced topical medicine. | |||
Produces ambrosia vulgaris, a complex plant that contains Bicardine, a general Brute medicine, Kelotane, a general Burn medicine, and Desoxyephedrine, also known as Meth. A very useful plant for Chemistry. | |||
Made by planting a Plant Anomaly Core, Anomaly Berries allow Botanists to reproduce the berries found at Plant Anomaly sites. Eating the berries will produce a random piece of plant produce. Berries can also be ground up for Artifexium. Changing the plant's potency doesn't seem to have an effect. | |||
Produces apples, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces bananas, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Banana bread or pulped for medicine. Their peels are useful for making people slip. | |||
Produces berries, used in a variety of different dishes and pastries. | |||
Produces bungo fruit, an unremarkable fruit that can be safely consumed. The bungo pit inside, however, contains Bungotoxin, a slow acting but remarkably lethal poison. Seeds come from Exotic Crates. Pits can also be used as seeds. | |||
Produces cabbages, which can be eaten for light sustenance. | |||
Produces cannabis leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a joint or blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates. | |||
Produces carrots. Carrots are used in various cooking recipes. When ground, produces Oculine, which can be used in healing eye damage. | |||
Produces chanterelle mushrooms, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Mushroom pizza. | |||
Produces cherries. Can be eaten for light sustenance and used in certain dishes. Eating cherries produces cherry pits, which contain a tiny amount of Toxin and can be used as seeds. | |||
Produces chilis, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Bowls of chili, Enchiladas, and Queso. | |||
Produces cocoa pods, the cornerstone of all chocolate dishes. Can be eaten for light sustenance, or turned into cocoa beans and used in certain dishes. Beware, cocoa and its products contain Theobromine, which is poisonous to some species. | |||
Produces corn, which can be eaten for light sustenance. When ground in a grinder, it becomes cornmeal. Corn is used to make Popcorn and Enchiladas. | |||
Produces cotton bolls, the cornerstone of all textile dishes. Can be eaten by moths for light sustenance and used in certain moth-friendly dishes. Cotton can be shaved with a knife and crafted into cloth. | |||
Produces eggplant, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make Vegetable Pizza. | |||
Produces eggs slower than an animal can, and have half the amount of egg versus their animal counterparts. Eggs are of course essential for Cooking. Seeds come from Exotic Crates and the MegaSeed Servitor. These are technically a mutation, but they're easily available from aforementioned sources. | |||
Are used in Cooking, and contain Amatoxin, a powerful poison. Seeds come from Exotic Crates, or Emagged MegaSeed Servitors. | |||
Produces galaxythistle which can eaten raw or ground to produce Stellibinin, a potent anti-poison medicine. Chemistry will love these. | |||
Produces garlic, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used to make Garlic Bread. | |||
Produces gatfruit, which can be eaten to produce a Python revolver loaded with regular .45 magnum rounds. Very illegal. | |||
Produces grapes, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in certain dishes. | |||
Produces lemons. Lemons are used in various cooking recipes. They also help prevent scurvy. | |||
Produces lingzhi, a mushroom which contains high amounts of Epinephrine and Ultravasculine, two critical chemicals used for stabilizing critical patients and healing toxin damage. | |||
Produces nettles which contain Histamine, a mild poison that can be used to manufacture some medicines. Seeds are found in Exotic Crates. | |||
Produces oat bushels. Oats are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance. A Chef can slice these with a knife to make onion slices which are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces oranges, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in various dishes. | |||
Produces pea pods, which can be eaten for light sustenance. | |||
Produces pineapple, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Pineapples are used in various cooking recipes, and can be juiced for drink recipes. | |||
Produces poppies which contain Bicaridine, a foundational medical chemical used to treat Brute damage and used as an ingredient for various advanced medicines. | |||
Produces potatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. Potatoes are used in various cooking recipes. | |||
A fall classic. Can be carved with a knife to create carved pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. | |||
Produces red onions, which can be eaten for light sustenance. | |||
Produces rice bushels, which can be ground up and used in a variety of dishes. | |||
Produces soybeans, which can be eaten for light sustenance or used in a variety of dishes. | |||
Produces sugarcane. Sugarcane can be ground into sugar and used in various cooking recipes. | |||
Produces tea leaves, which can be dried and ground to make a variety of tea-related beverages. | |||
Produces tobacco leaves which can be dried and then crafted into a blunt. Seeds come from Exotic Crates. | |||
Produces tomatoes, which can be eaten for light sustenance. They are also used to make various dishes like Pizzas, Spaghetti, and Bowls of chili. Can also be thrown for fun. | |||
Produces tower caps. Tower caps are a source of logs. A hatchet is needed to chop these trees down. The resultant produce can be carved into Wood Planks via a hatchet or knife. Seeds come from Exotic Crates and MegaSeed Servitor. | |||
Produces watermelon, which can be sliced into delicious watermelon slices and used in certain recipes. Can also be eaten whole, somehow. | |||
Produces wheat bushels. Wheat can be used in a grinder to produce flour which can be mixed with water to make dough or used in various cooking recipes. |
Mutations
Plants treated with Unstable Mutagen will undergo random genetic mutations, and may even mutate into new species. The more Unstable Mutagen a plant receives, the likely it receives mutations. Since many genes are essential to a plant's survival, high amounts of Unstable Mutagen are likely to kill a plant. It's recommended that you use a Dropper to limit the amount of Mutagen you introduce a plant to.
Mutation | Effect |
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Both plant and produce glow. | |
Less prone to heat damage. | |
The maximum potency of the plant is increased from 50 to 100. | |
The potency of the plant is increased. | |
The yield of the plant is increased. | |
Resistant to high pressure. | |
Kills the plant and replaces it with rapidly spreading Kudzu vines. Kudzu obscures tiles and slows movement to a crawl, and it's capable of overtaking entire stations if left unchecked. Best dealt with through liberal use of Plant-B-Gone, or sharp weapons like the Hatchet. | |
Requires less water to grow. | |
Requires a hatchet or a scythe to be harvested. | |
Longer life cycle. | |
Requires less light to grow. | |
Resistant to low pressure | |
The produce now contains a different chemical than the one it normally would have had, or gained a new chemical alongside the original.[1] | |
Less likely to get pests. | |
The inverse of the mutation above, the produce will now no longer contain one of its original chemicals. | |
Screams when harvested, clipped and, killed. | |
The produce cannot be extracted for seeds. Use clippers for seed samples instead. | |
The tray gains sentience (becomes a ghost role); can be killed by deconstructing. | |
Makes you slip when running on the fruit. | |
Toxins have less of an effect on the plant's health. | |
Less likely to get weeds. |
Mutated Species
Some plants can mutate into entirely new species if exposed to Unstable Mutagen early in their life cycle. These Mutated Species often resemble the original species while containing different chemicals, serving different functions, or otherwise radically differing from normal plant life. Mutate with caution, as some of the plants on this list are extremely dangerous.[2]
Plant Name | Original Plant | Description | Plant Image | Produce Image |
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Contains Omnizine, Space Mirage, and Desoxyephedrine (Meth). Chem will always be happy to see it delivered. | ||||
Contains Blood, and can be further mutated into Killer Tomatoes. | ||||
Contains Chlorine and Ammonia instead of Pumpkin Flesh. Can't be carved into Jack-O-Lanterns. | ||||
Contains Space Lube. Bursts when thrown at walls or a disgruntled Security Officer. | ||||
Beloved by Clowns and Mimes alike, the Capfruit can be eaten to produce Cap Guns, much like the Gatfruit. | ||||
Beloved by Traitors and Criminals alike, the Fake Capfruit produces Fake Cap Guns, loaded with .45 magnum armor-piercing rounds. It is indistinguishable from normal Capfruit. | ||||
Contains Frostoil, a chemical which cools those that metabolize it. | ||||
Produces Death Nettles, which look menacing and cause heat and caustic damage when used in combat. They can be ground up for their Sulfuric Acid and Fluorosulfuric Acid. | ||||
While obtainable easily at most vendors, it is still technically a mutation of normal Eggplants; also referred as "Eggy". | ||||
A disturbingly three-dimensional orange. Contains Haloperidol, a sedative that counteracts many drugs. | ||||
Produces razor-sharp thistle that can be used as a fragile melee weapon, welded to create glass, or ground up for Razorium. | ||||
Produces golden apples, which contain Doctor's Delight, a healing cocktail. | ||||
Produces holymelons, angelic plants filled with Holy Water. Can be juiced to create wine. | ||||
Produces Killer Tomato Mobs, attacks any person that wasn't present for their harvest. | ||||
Contains Carpotoxin, a poison useful for making Cognizine. | ||||
Contains Laughter, a chemical which causes uncontrollable laughter if metabolized. The clown's favorite plant. | ||||
A mutated lemon which contains Milk. Can be juiced to produced Sake. | ||||
Same as normal Poppies, can be mutated into Spaceman's Trumpet. | ||||
A sinewy plant that can be harvested to create bushels of Meatwheat. Can be processed into an almost meat-like substance. | ||||
Contains Mute Toxin, which can be metabolized to temporarily cause muteness. The mime's favorite plant. | ||||
Can be whittled down with a knife to produce paper. | ||||
Contains Phlogiston, an extremely dangerous and flammable chemical that ignites on contact with living beings. | ||||
Contains Space Mirage, Lipolicide, Mindbreaker Toxin, Happiness and Psicodine. The best high in the galaxy. | ||||
Contains Polypyrylium Oligomers, which heals both Airloss and Brute; optimal to heal spacing. | ||||
Produces Steel-Cap Logs, which can be processed with a Hatchet or knife to create steel. | ||||
A further mutation of Laughin' Peas that contain Pax, a chemical that makes the user incapable of violence when metabolized. |
Chemicals
Produce can contain chemicals, which are metabolized when eaten. Plants with higher Potency (Such as those treated with Robust Harvest) will have naturally have more chemicals. Alternatively, the plant can be ground and refined into a more pure chemical.