World of Warcraft: Fungal Spores Quest Guide

The Fungal Spores quest sends you to the oases of the Barrens to harvest a strange mushroom for the Forsaken apothecaries. It is a short collection task, and the only real hurdle is finding the mushroom nodes and clearing the beasts that guard them.

Quick answer: Interact with the large Laden Mushrooms along the shore of any Barrens oasis to gather Fungal Spores, then return them to Apothecary Helbrim at the Crossroads.

Fungal Spores quest details

This is a Horde quest in the Barrens that both starts and ends with Apothecary Helbrim at the Crossroads. The number of spores you need depends on the version of the game you are playing.

Detail	Value
Start / End	Apothecary Helbrim, the Crossroads
Zone	Northern Barrens
Objective	Collect Fungal Spores from mushrooms
Spores required	4 (Classic) / 5 (current retail objective)
Follow-up	In Fungus We Trust

The Fungal Spores themselves are a Quest Item that stacks up to 20, pulled from mushrooms rather than dropped by enemies. Rewards differ across versions, so treat the numbers below as version-specific.

Version	Experience	Reputation
Retail (Cataclysm onward)	740 XP	+250 Undercity
Classic	1,050 XP (1,470 in Season of Mastery)	+100 Undercity

Where to find Fungal Spores in the Barrens

Fungal Spores come out of Laden Mushrooms, the large pale-and-blue mushroom clusters that grow along the water at the region’s oases. You can gather them at any of three spots, and mixing in a nearby quest saves a return trip.

Oasis	Location	Notes
The Stagnant Oasis	South of Ratchet (around 55, 42)	Less player competition for nodes
The Forgotten Pools	Northwest (around 44, 22)	Slightly lower-level mobs; pairs with The Forgotten Pools quest
Lushwater Oasis	Central Barrens	Same mushroom nodes along the shore

If you play a herbalist, turn on herb tracking. The mushroom caps show up on your minimap, which makes locating each node much faster.

The Stagnant Oasis is the pick when the ponds near the Crossroads are crowded, since the same nodes there see far less traffic. The Forgotten Pools is the better choice at low level because the surrounding beasts are a touch weaker.

How to collect the Fungal Spores

Ride to the water bank at your chosen oasis. At the Stagnant Oasis, head to the shoreline south of Ratchet and look along the edge of the pond.

Spot the large mushroom clusters labeled Fungal Spores. They sit right at the water’s edge and in the shallows, so run the shoreline rather than the grass to find them.

Right-click each mushroom to harvest its spores into your bags. Every node adds to the objective counter on the right side of your screen.

Collecting Initial Fungal Spores — Looting your first spores from a shoreline mushroom while a hyena closes in. Shown at 00:53 in PazarGamingGuides’s video. Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Deal with the hyenas that patrol the shore. These level 15 beasts will pull if you get too close, so clear one before you reach for the next node to avoid stacking fights.

Combat and Gathering — Regrouping by the pond after a hyena fight before moving on to the remaining mushrooms. Shown at 01:04 in PazarGamingGuides’s video. Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Keep working along the bank until the tracker fills. You will see the “Objective Complete” pop-up once the count reaches its target, such as Fungal Spores: 4/4.

Completing Quest Objective — The final mushroom fills the counter and triggers the objective-complete message. Shown at 01:22 in PazarGamingGuides’s video. Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Turn in the quest at the Crossroads

Once your spores are gathered, ride back to the Crossroads and hand them to Apothecary Helbrim. A gold question mark marks him on both the world map and the minimap.

You know it worked when Helbrim accepts the spores, the quest clears from your log, and you receive the experience, coin, and Undercity reputation. Completing it also opens the follow-up, In Fungus We Trust.

Because the oases sit close to several other tasks, it is worth grabbing The Forgotten Pools, Centaur Bracers, or Harpy Raiders on the same trip so you clear multiple quests before heading back to town.