Glowing mushrooms: description and photo. Bioluminescent mushroom Variety of luminous species

Kira Stoletova

There is such a thing as bioluminescence - the glow of living organisms. Glowing mushrooms are representatives of this phenomenon. Some species glow not only in the dark, but also during the day. Science gives different explanations for this phenomenon.

General information

First glowing mushrooms were identified in 1840 in Brazil. Then they disappeared, and over time, luminescent fruiting bodies were again found in the same place. Mentions of the phenomenon are found even in the works of Aristotle and the writer Pliny the Elder.

Among these species are many poisonous organisms. The sizes of mushrooms do not exceed 3 cm in diameter. The most common is Mycena (feed and decompose organic matter). The radiation is more often yellowish-green, but it can also be light blue, deep red, etc. They are found in the forests of Japan, South America, Brazil, Belize, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, Southern Europe, etc.

Causes of glow

More often, the entire fruiting body glows. In our latitudes, there are mushrooms that have light in their mycelium. Scientific studies have revealed conflicting reasons for the occurrence of this phenomenon:

1. Chemical reaction - the pigment luciferin and oxygen are involved in the process. The pigment oxidizes and causes a greenish glow.
2. Habitat.
3. Reproduction method - attract animals, on the wool of which spores fall and are carried by this method through the forest.
4. Warning method - light warns of the toxicity of fruiting bodies. But a defensive reaction is not always justified, because they can be edible.

The glow of most varieties is weak, it is visible only in the dark. But there are also mushrooms that, due to the flicker, are visible at a distance of 40 m. They are called Poromycena manipularis.

Radiation strength different types depends on such factors:

• duration life cycle;
• the age of the fruiting body - old mushrooms no longer glow, unlike young ones;
• temperatures - the most intense bioluminescence of these fungi is observed at 21˚С;
• the amount of oxygen - the less it is, the weaker the glow.

The most common types

Glowing mushrooms have recently been represented by 68 varieties. But every year their number increases. The most famous include the following:

1. Mycena luxaeterna - found near the Atlantic Ocean. They grow on the branches of trees. They are 0.8 cm in diameter. The leg is jelly-like. The name translates as "eternal light".
2. Mycena silvaelucens - found on the island of Borneo (Malaysia). Hat dimensions - 18 mm.
3. Mycena luxarboricola or "light on the tree" is a type of luminous mushroom, the first specimens of which were found in Brazil. Most common in Parana. Diameter 0.5 cm.
4. Pleurotus (Agaricus) olearius DC - grow in Southern Europe. They prefer places under old trees. The fruit bodies are large, the stem is thick, the hat is yellow-golden. Glow entirely.
5. Xylaria Hypoxylon L - grow on beech stumps. Glow gives mycelium. Branched fruits.
6. Armillaria mellea Vahl - the mycelium of this variety destroys wood. Light and dark threads of mycelium permeate the entire trunk. Because of the glow in the dark, it seems as if the radiation comes from the tree.
7. Gardneri Berk - found in Brazil. They grow on dead palm leaves.

Application

Glowing mushrooms are used in medicine.

Luminous dictiophora has healing properties - rare view growing in the jungle. According to the recipe of Count Alessandro Cagliostro, an elixir is prepared from it, for which the following ingredients are needed:

• 4 g dry chopped dictiophora;
• 200 g of vodka or cognac;

The medicine is insisted for 2 weeks. Take orally for 1 hour or 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day 15 minutes before meals. It can help in the treatment of a variety of diseases:

• fights cancer cells
• gives the effect of rejuvenation;
• helps in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases;
• enhances potency.

To date, scientists from Russia, together with Brazilian and Japanese colleagues, have created mushrooms that glow with almost all the colors of the rainbow. Decorative lanterns made from such mushrooms, hanging from tree trunks or placed on the ground, can decorate gardens.

It is worth trying to grow a luminous mushroom with your own hands. To get a quality crop, you need good seedlings. Luminescent fruiting bodies are a rarity, so sticks with mycelium are bought at special enterprises or in stores. It must be remembered that in nature such species grow more often in the humid tropics. The mushroom picker will begin to bear fruit if an appropriate microclimate is created.

5 AMAZING GLOWING LIVING ORGANISMS

I found a luminous mushroom near Tver. Amazing Glowing Mushroom

Conclusion

Mushrooms that glow in the dark or ghost mushrooms are especially common in tropical forests. Some of their types give such strong radiation that they can be used as flashlights. Also, these organisms have medicinal properties.

Glowing mushrooms, photos of which are in this article, are few in nature in relation to its diversity and are rare. There are many types of plant "lanterns". All of them differ in the strength of the emitted light and colors. The glowing terraria mushroom even became one of the most famous in computer games. Whether it actually exists in nature - there is no information.

Why do mushrooms glow?

Glowing mushrooms are a manifestation natural phenomenon bioluminescence. It manifests itself in some living organisms. Glow-in-the-dark mushrooms have also been found. Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction accompanied by the release of radiant energy. A cold glow appears, which got its name for the slight release of heat during the manifestation of the phenomenon.

He is a consequence chemical reaction, which involves oxygen and luciferin (light-emitting biological pigment). The reaction occurs in the tissues of fungi when they absorb oxygen. As a result, the tissues begin to glow. But there is another reason for this phenomenon.

For example, ordinary rotten or old russula and milk mushrooms can glow. The phenomenon occurs because of the small microorganisms living in them. Their bodies emit phosphorescent light, and it seems that it comes from a fungus.

Where do glowing mushrooms grow?

Glow in the dark mushrooms number from 68 to 71 species. More than half of them belong to the genus Mycena. They exist due to the decomposition of organic matter. Most of these luminous mushrooms grow in Japan - 10 species. in Brazil and South America found 8 more varieties. Glowing mushrooms are found in Puerto Rico, Malaysia and other places around the world.

What parts of mushrooms glow?

These amazing organisms belong to different families. Mushrooms can glow completely or in parts. Some have only the lower surface of the cap. They are mainly found in tropical, hot countries and southern Europe. In other mushrooms, the vegetative organs that serve for nutrition glow. Such species are most often found in the middle lane.

Where can you see glowing mushrooms?

For example, the mushrooms Armillaria mellea Vahl have light or dark threads (rhizomorphs) in the mycelium. They penetrate the tree trunk and contribute to its destruction. The rhizomorphs glow in the dark, and from the side it seems that the radiance comes from the tree. This phenomenon is most often observed on already rotten trunks.

Luminous mushrooms Xylaria Hypoxylon L have club-shaped fruits that branch out like antlers. Most often they grow in beech stumps. In mushrooms, only mycelia glow. The same effect is observed in another species - X. polymorpa Pers.

Most often, mushrooms have glowing fruits. For example, one of the most famous is Pleurotus (Agaricus) olearius DC. They grow in southern Europe, under old trees. Mushrooms are very large, stand on a thick stem, but have a small yellowish-golden cap. These species are completely luminous, even the upper surface of the cap.

Another interesting view- Pl. Gardneri Berk, native to Brazil. These mushrooms are found on dead palm leaves. Children of local natives often use luminous pieces of such mushrooms in the evenings instead of toys. Some species grow on the trunks of healthy trees.

Glow power

In the species Pleurotus (Agaricus) olearius DC, luminescence is observed only in living fungi. The phenomenon intensifies until they are fully ripe. Then the glow subsides. But if you cut it, even the pieces will emit light for a long time.

The strength of its emission is different. The intensity of the glow varies depending on the type of fungus. But even for the same one, it can vary due to the different duration of the life cycle. Some mushrooms glow so strongly that they can be used instead of a light bulb and even read next to them.

Other species become noticeable only if you approach them at a distance of 20 meters. Glowing rotten visible from afar. The strength of radiation directly depends on age. Mushrooms that are old or dormant no longer glow. This phenomenon has only living organisms.

The intensity of the glow may also depend on temperature. For example, mushrooms begin to radiate only in the range from 4 to 50 degrees. For some mushrooms, the temperature should not exceed 10, while others require 50 degrees and above. The amount of oxygen is also important for the glow. With its lack, the flickering of mushrooms will be weaker, in boiled water it will stop altogether.

Glow colors

Glowing mushrooms can emit light in different colors. The most common is yellowish-greenish radiation. Such mushrooms grow in Jamaica, Japan, Belize and several other countries. A weak glow can be seen in the daytime, if there is no sun. But best of all, the radiance is observed in the dark. Color variations may vary. Some mushrooms attract with a soft blue glow, others with bright red. There are many yellow and green shades.

Why do mushrooms glow?

There are several opinions about why the mushroom glows. Some researchers argue that this phenomenon occurs at the time of its nutrition. A chemical reaction takes place, as a result of which the glow begins. According to another version, mushrooms glow to attract animals, which then spread fungal spores on their skin, legs and paws. This is a common way of reproduction and some plants.

Some luminous mushrooms thus warn of danger, scaring away those who wish to feast on them. But sometimes this is a false defensive reaction of mushrooms. They may well be edible. Sometimes mushrooms themselves can act as predators, luring insects towards them with light, and then eating them.

These neon green mushrooms, or Mycena chlorophos, appear during the rainy season in Japanese and Brazilian forests, scattering the floor with glowing spores. The glow of mushrooms is due to bioluminescence, one of the amazing reactions that occur in some plants and animals.

In 1840, the famous English botanist George Gardner described an unusual sight that he had to observe in Brazil: a group of boys played with a luminous object, which turned out to be a luminescent mushroom.
The children called it "coconut flower" and showed Gardner the place where the fungus grew, on fallen leaves at the base of a dwarf palm tree.
Gardner sent away unusual mushroom to England, where he received the description and name Agaricus gardneri. Since then, until 2009, scientists no longer encountered such mushrooms.

But now researchers from State University San Francisco (USA) managed to collect new specimens of the lost species and reclassify it. The mushroom was named Neonothopanus gardneri

This species of eukaryotes glows so brightly in the dark that it can even read under these conditions. Scientists hope that a careful study of this fungus and its bioluminescent counterparts from other parts of the world will help answer the question of how and why mushrooms glow.


After studying the anatomy, physiology, and genetic origin of the fungus, San Francisco University staff determined that it should be placed in the genus Neonothopanus. According to scientists, it is extremely difficult to collect new specimens of this species - the search for this fungus requires a special approach and is fraught with great difficulties.
To see the green glow of the bioluminescent fungus, scientists had to wander through the forest at night during the new moon, while being very careful not to run into snakes and jaguars. Only digital cameras facilitated the situation, thanks to which scientists managed to detect luminous mushrooms.


Bioluminescence, or the ability of an organism to produce its own light, is a very widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom, which occurs due to a number of chemical processes. Scientists suggest that mushrooms should glow in much the same way as the well-known firefly beetles, i.e. thanks to the luciferin-luciferase mixture.
However, these compounds have not yet been found in mushrooms. In addition, it remains a mystery to scientists why fungi need such a mechanism. There are several assumptions, however, it has not yet been possible to confirm them.

Bioluminescent Mushroom December 28th, 2013

Astringent panellus (Panellus stipticus) is a common species that grows in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America(incl. European part Russia, Caucasus, Siberia, Primorsky Krai. In the Leningrad region, it is quite rare). Grows in groups on logs, stumps and trunks deciduous trees especially on oaks, beeches and birches.

It is one of the bioluminescent mushroom species.

Small, bitter-tasting fruiting bodies of this fungus sometimes completely cover entire stumps. Caps 1-3 cm in diameter, rounded or kidney-shaped, with a folded edge, smooth, moderately sticky, dirty ocher. The plates are frequent, low, with transverse anastomoses, rusty-yellowish. The leg is short, eccentric, widened above, pubescent below, ocher, 0.5-2 cm long and 2-5 mm thick. Flesh with a bitter taste. Spores are colorless, smooth, cylindrical, curved, amyloid, 2-4 x 1-2 microns.

It occurs, as a rule, often during the entire growing season (May - October) large groups on fallen trunks, but more often on the stumps of some deciduous trees, mainly on alder, birch, oak, etc. Inedible.

Panellus astringent is a bit like inedible soft panellus ( Panellus mitis), which is characterized by white or whitish fruit bodies, a mild flavor, and grows on dead branches coniferous trees, mainly ate.

It has long been known that some living organisms such as fish, insects and even fungi can emit visible light. By the way, the latter are mentioned in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, as well as the writer Pliny the Elder. However, nowadays researchers still have many questions about the nature of luminous mushrooms.

Like other light-emitting organisms, bioluminescence in fungi is possible through a chemical reaction involving oxygen and luciferin, a light-emitting biological pigment. As a result of this, the tissues of the fungus in which the reaction takes place glow with a greenish light.

Most types of mushrooms emit a faint light that can only be seen in very dark conditions, but there are some that glow quite brightly. For example, the mushroom Poromycena manipularis often has such an intense glow that it can be seen from a distance of 40 meters from it. Under the light, P. manipularis can even be read.

Today, about 70 species of fungi are known that are capable of bioluminescence, but it is still not exactly clear why mushrooms emit light. According to one of the researchers' hypotheses, the glow is necessary for some fungi to attract nocturnal animals that spread their spores, thereby helping to reproduce. And according to another version, the emitted light of the fungus serves as a warning about its toxicity to animals.

These mushrooms grow in quite a warm European countries, in appearance, some are even confused with chanterelles. It's actually a mushroom. Omphalotus olearius, which feature is a bioluminescent glow, which is especially beautiful at night:

Of course, such photos are taken with a long exposure and you just can’t see it in the forest :-)

• Section heading: Mushrooms
• Section title: Bioluminescence (glow of organisms)
• Secrets and mysteries of "living" light; ; ;

Bioluminescence or the glow of living organisms is a well-known phenomenon in nature. At present, this phenomenon is also known among a number of fungi that are capable of glowing in the dark. Glow-in-the-dark mushrooms hang like tiny, living lanterns from tree trunks and branches, illuminating forests around the world.

According to various estimates of scientists, approximately 68 to 71 species of luminescent fungi are known. Three-quarters of the luminous fungi studied so far belong to the genus Mycena. This group of fungi lives on the decomposition of organic matter. The largest number of them grows in Japan - 10 species, another 8 - in South America in Brazil. Their light greenish glow is the result of chemical oxidative reactions that occur in the cells of fungi at the moment when they absorb oxygen. Scientists have found that the luminescent process in fungi is similar to that which occurs in luminous bacteria and other luminescent organisms. So, the glow itself causes luciferin, i.e. mediated luciferase reaction in the presence of water and oxygen.

It should be noted that mycologists have discovered at least 7 species of luminescent fungi, the glow of which is distinguished by a rather ominous yellowish-green light that they emit for almost 24 hours a day ... It was their study that made it possible to shed light on the evolution of luminescence in nature.

Mushrooms that emit a rather bright yellow-green glow are found in Belize, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico. At the same time, if the daylight is not very bright, then the glow of mushrooms can also be seen in the daytime, although the greenish-yellow light stands out poorly against the background of daylight, and therefore it is quite difficult to notice it, especially if you do not know about it. But if you put such mushrooms in a dark room, then after a short adaptation of your eyes to the dark, you can observe their glow very well at any time of the day.

Luminescent fungi such as Mycena luxaeterna are found on tree knots in the Atlantic forests. The fruiting body of this fungus is rather small: its cap is about 8 mm (0.3 in) in diameter. meter, located but jelly-like leg. The specific name of this type of mushroom means "eternal light" and was inspired by Mozart's Requiem.

On the bark of a tree in the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in Malaysia on the island of Borneo, a fungus was found, described under the name Mycena silvaelucens. The diameter of its cap reaches almost 18 mm in diameter, or just over half an inch.

Also, a fungus called Mycena luxarboricola, which translates as "the light that lives on the tree," was collected from the bark of a living tree. And it is found on the bark of old-growth trees in the coastal Atlantic forests in Paraná in Brazil. The cap of this mushroom is less than 5 mm (0.2 in) in diameter.

Mycologists have found that in mushrooms of the genus Mycena, luminescent species come from 16 different lineages, which indicates that luminescence evolved from a single point, while some species of this genus later lost their ability to glow during evolution. Scientists still have many unanswered questions about glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, and in particular, how and why they begin to glow. There is speculation that some fungi glow to attract nocturnal animals that aid in the spread of fungal spores throughout an area.