Sponge-plants were flowering plants native to Spiridon.
When a sponge-plant sensed nearby animals, it shot out a liquid containing fungal spores which would attach to and spread on those who were hit.
Jo Grant was infected by a sponge-plant. A Spiridon applied a paste to the infection, curing her.(TV: Planet of the Daleks)
Behind the scenes
- The sponge-plant is not named on television, only in the novelisation.
- It is never made clear whether the sponge-plant and the fungoid infection spores are two separate species in a symbiotic bond or one species with qualities of both plant and fungus. In nature, a flowering plant reproduces by producing seeds.