Warning!
	This article contains information regarding Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and thus may contain spoilers.

Vitus reflux was a rare species of fungus. It was commonly (and misleadingly as it was not a plant) known as the empathy flower because it was sensitive to emotions, growing better when treated with patience and empathy, and worse in the presence of stress. V. reflux propagated via spores; it only bloomed at night, producing red flower-like structures with the ability to repeat spoken phrases in a high-pitched tone. Its life cycle included an unpleasant off-gassing stage. The fungus could attain a massive size, with mobile tentacles capable of grappling humanoids.

V. reflux was stringently protected under Starfleet Regulation 286.4, which prohibited disturbing them before they reached maturity.

In 3195, Captain Nahla Ake introduced the Starfleet Academy calica team to V. reflux while counseling them to be strategic in responding to a prank by the War College team. The cadets later realized her true meaning, and executed a prank of their own wherein they introduced V. reflux spores to the War College dormitories along with a growth accelerant, causing the fungi to rapidly proliferate overnight and force the dorm's evacuation; the College's tech labs were also ruined. Furthermore, due to their protected status, the fungi could not be immediately cleared.

Acknowledging the cadets' efforts, Commander Zeeren Kelrec conceded victory in the prank war to the Academy. As of midterms, the V. reflex had still not been fully removed and was off gassing; Ake admitted to Kelrec then that she felt bad about the incident. (SA: "Vitus Reflux", "Series Acclimation Mil")