How Bioluminescent Fungi Glow In the Dark

D-brief
By Nathaniel Scharping
Apr 28, 2017 7:51 PMDec 17, 2019 1:36 AM
Panellus stipticus, glowing fungi - Wikimedia Commons
(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

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Take a moonlit walk through the woods, and you may notice small, glowing green mushrooms brightening your path near the bases of trees and in the underbrush. There are roughly 80 species of bioluminescent fungi scattered throughout the world, and 2015 study indicated they likely glow in the dark to attract spore-spreading bugs.

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