Bioluminescent Mushrooms

Tmethyl. Glowing Mushrooms. 2014. Http://imgur.com/gallery/skwOPqR, Internet.Imgur. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

Hey guys, so for this post, I am going to be talking about bioluminescent Fungi. So, for starters, what is does it mean? Bioluminescence is the ability for a living organism to produce light. that's pretty cool, right?! How does it work though? Well the short answer is chemistry.  In some fungi, and some organisms, they have a light-emitting pigment called luciferin. luciferin is then broken down by the enzyme luciferase, assisted by oxygen. The chemical reaction gives off energy in the form of light. This occurs when the electron are sent to an outer energy level. When they return to their original one, energy is released.

There are about 50-70 different species of bioluminescent mushrooms, and all are in the order of Agaricales. Most are in Europe, Asia, And South America. There are a few in the U.S, However. Panellus pusillus is found in the North Americas, as well as Asia, Europe, and South America. I will most likely make a second part of this post, maybe even go hunting for some myself! Check in next week for another post, thank you for reading!

Panellus Pusillus

Disclaimer: I did not take, nor do I own any of the pictures in this article.