I had thought it was a trick of the (lack of) light, but just discovered thanks to these 'ere interwebz that certain Mycenae bioluminesce. Is this true also for species in British Columbia? Also, why do they do this, any theories?
I've yet to see the Mycena species that is bioluminous...but I've been blessed several years now with the Jack O'Lanterns, Omphalotus olearius. Lucky you! Is there any way to get photos of them even from the daylight? I'd love to see what they look like even when not glowing...
These may have been them, though I'm far from sure (that picture is from two years ago). My question is does anyone know why certain mushrooms glow? Is there a link with edibility/toxicity?
One theory is that the glow attracts invertebrates that help disperse spores. Another is that the bioluminescence is the byproduct of metabolic activity. Some folks believe that it is an indication of where fairies hold nocturnal revels.
Maybe that's what fairy dust is, mushroom spores ;-). It would be interesting to know how much heat is involved. Perhaps it's associated with increased enzymatic activity?
I just recently read about a theory that many of our mushrooms' spores originally came from space? The information stated that spore is encased in an actual metal...and would/should easily survive space travel up to soooo many years and cold up to sooooo many degrees negative? Hmm... Curious'r and Curious'r
Would that be Terrence McKenna (and the development of language etc.) or the research that inspired that fella?
