Caves are an important part of Grow: Song of the Evertree, being found both on Alaria and on Worlds created by the Apprentice using a World Seed. (Vaults, in which Song Fragments can be found, are a sub-set of Caves.) There are a limited number of cave floorplans due to each floorplan being designed by hand rather than procedurally-generated the way Worlds are. Each Cave may contain one or more of the following elements:
- bioluminescent fungi, usually found studding an archway separating the front and back halves of a larger Cave;
- Chests, typically Stone Coffers, though other types may also be found, especially as the reward for solving a Puzzle;
- Insects, including a blue variety of firefly seen only underground;
- ledges along the walls of the Cave, accessible by jumping from an adjacent ledge or a Bouncy Mushroom;
- Mining Points, which appear as outcrops of opaque crystals, and which can be mined using the Mallet;
- mushrooms, of both the inert yellow and Bouncy pink kinds;
- pools of water which may or may not contain Fish;
- round hydraulic pedestals and/or wooden rafts for crossing deeper water;
- shafts of light shining in through small holes in the Cave roof high above;
- stalactites growing down from the ceilings and/or stalagmites growing up from the floor;
- stone rubble, which the Apprentice can break apart with their Axe or Mallet in order to gain Myora;
- wooden walls, which the Apprentice can break apart with their Axe or Mallet in order to progress into the cave and gain Myora;
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Bioluminescent fungi on an archway
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A Mining Point, with a wooden wall half-hiding it
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The glowing pool nearly obscures a puzzle piece behind it
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Round hydraulic pedestals surrounding a glowing spot marking where a prize can be fished for
Some caves (especially Vaults) also contain one or more Puzzles which must be solved in order to access a reward, typically one or more Chests.
Navigating a Cave can be quite confusing, as many passageways curve around and there are sometimes loops the Apprentice can circle through. Noting landmarks such as the arch of bioluminescent fungi which appears in some larger caves can help keep the player oriented. Players who find they are prone to becoming lost in Caves may choose to leave in place the glowing areas in pools of water that indicate an item other than a Fish can be fished for there, so that the glow can serve as an additional landmark. The exit to the Cave is visible from several rooms away as a light patch in a darker area. Caves almost always have only one opening which serves as both entrance and exit.
It is advisable to save before entering a Cave, especially one on a World, as it may not be possible to save the game inside such Caves, and also because time does not pass inside Caves of any kind, so a lost Apprentice cannot simply wait for their mount to bring them home at sunset or midnight. Furthermore, if an Apprentice spends too long trying to find their way out of a larger and more difficult Cave or Vault, their autosaves may eventually consist entirely of saves from within that Cave or Vault. Finally, an Apprentice may become literally stuck in the sense of unable to move due to being caught in subterranean terrain, and loading from a save is generally the only solution to such a predicament.
Care and Prosperity Update
Along with other features, the Care and Prosperity Update of January 2022 added a number of new Cave layouts.
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A new Cave featuring wood rafts, multiple Fishing spots, and blue fireflies
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A new Cave featuring a rope bridge over a misty crevasse and vines of The Withering
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A new Cave featuring a long ramp in Alarian architectural style over a large waterfall
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A new Cave featuring multiple cascading waterfalls amid stone passageways
