Scientists have discovered an amazing group of ‘bioluminescent’ fungi capable of producing light through a chemical reaction, and glows in the dark! They were collected from Ribeira Valley Tourist State Park near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The mushrooms fall under the group genus Mycena — that includes about 500 species worldwide, of which only 33 are known to be bioluminescent.
It is since 2002, ten more bioluminescent fungi species have been discovered in the tropical forests of Brazil. Four species out of these are new to science. All of these are found by Cassius Stevani, professor of chemistry at the University of Sao Paulo; Dennis Desjardin, professor of mycology at San Francisco State University in California; and Marina Capelari of Brazil’s Institute of Botany.
It is since the 1970s, this work has increased the number of known-glowers by 30 percent.
Picture Credit: National Geographic News
