#omphalotus

[herpsandbirds]

Ghost Fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis), GLOWING IN THE DARK!!!, family Omphalotaceae, Tasmania, Australia

As you may have noticed, this fungus is bioluminescent.

The normal coloring is whitish or brown.

Primarily distributed in southern Australia and Tasmania, but has occasionally been found elsewhere.

Grows on dead wood.

photograph by Frya

[briery]

Nicknamed "ghost mushrooms" or "ghost fungus" due to their bioluminescent glow, Omphalotus nidiformi are found primarily in the forests of Southern Australia and Tasmania. (Larger).

[fungusqueen]

Omphalotus olivascens (Western Jack-o-lantern) found last winter

[colorsoutofearth]

Omphalotus nidiformis

Photo by Juergen Freund

[tom-at-the-farm]

Jack o’ lanterns (Omphalotus sp.)! I was driving home and saw bright orange clusters in the periphery of my vision, which activates deeply ingrained “chicken of the woods!!!11” neural pathways in my brain. So naturally I had to turn around, illegally park in someone’s driveway (this person had a chicken coop with actual chickens, not Of The Woods, in it, so that was awesome) and trudge up a hill just to access these mushrooms. I knew they couldn’t be actual Laetiporus because they were growing terrestrially, so the only other suspect was Omphalotus. And I was right! They were just so huge and vivid.

Various species of Omphalotus are known to be bioluminescent due to the enzyme luciferase, so I came back at night with my fingers crossed. They weren’t glowing, but I took a chance and swiped a few to take home, figuring that maybe they were too near an illuminated road for it to work. It’s really no guarantee that these mushrooms would glow, but I’m feeling hashtag blessed right now because in the total darkness of my home their gills showed a (very faint) luminescence. Nothing neon and green, just a slight glow in the darkness. Nature is insane, I love it

[bowelfly]

big ass jack-o-lantern fungus, Omphalotus sp., with secret pet!

davis mtns state park, TX, 2016

ID courtesy of @sporesmore​

[fungusqueen]

Omphalotus olivascens (Western Jack-o-lantern) found last winter

[fungusqueen]

For the first time in my life, I was finally able to witness and photograph the bioluminescence of a fruiting body of Omphalotus olivascens, aka the Jack-O-Lantern mushroom! This was photographed with a 30 second exposure. I’ve tried in the past, to bring these mushrooms into dark rooms (bathrooms, closets, etc. with no light AT ALL), waiting for minutes to try and see something...with no luck. I had totally given up on trying to see the GLOW because I felt like I had been wasting my time all these years. I brought this mushroom home last night and kind of wondered what would happen if I turned off the lights, and sure enough, within seconds, the glow was undeniable! It took me a couple attempts to get my camera settings right, and this was the least blurry photo I took!