Felucia

[LeeC]

Watching episode 3 and I have to ask: based on the flora of felucia, would it be likely someone visiting the planet could breath in the spores of the fungal life and potentially have something grow or eat them from the inside? Looks like a deathworld for those who did not evolve there. The spores are so thick and apart of the breathable atmosphere that I think the lungs wouldn't be able to beat back the spores or eliminate them before they start growing.

[Drukoziz]

I'm guessing people who plan on going there take some sort of injection to stop that from happening, much like soldiers do when going overseas today.

[Aurbere]

I'm guessing people who plan on going there take some sort of injection to stop that from happening, much like soldiers do when going overseas today.

 

Most likely. Or they wear equipment to protect themselves, like rebreathers.

[Malastare]

This would only be a problem for spores which grow well in moderate humidity, a constant 98F temperature (assuming Star Wars humans have the same baseline body temperature), and no sun.

 

Now, I'm not saying that there wouldn't be any that fall into that category, I'm just saying that, contrary to popular myths, ingesting a seed/spore is not enough to support actual growth. In reality, the vast majority of plants, fungi, and even bacteria are simply unable to live inside humans. And that's not because of our immune system. Most soil bacterial cannot thrive (eg: multiply) at 98F, and won't find sufficient food. Plants cannot live because they can't get sufficient quantities of oxygen or carbon dioxide, and even if they could, the vast majority lack the ability to process any source of energy inside a human body. Complex fungi (anything more complex than a slime mold) might have some better luck, but they still would lack oxygen.

 

You'd have more worries over single-celled fungi than you would over the large stalk-like fungi.