Why do some mushrooms emit light? Making light isn’t common in fungi; scientists have described about 100,000 fungal species, and only 75 glow. Lab work has shown that the glow did not happen randomly or by accident.
Scientists found that these mushrooms made light mostly at night, so experiments were conducted to determine why.
According to studies in dark environments, bioluminescent fruit bodies may be at an advantage by attracting insects and other arthropods that could help disperse their spores.
Conditions that affect the growth of fungi, such as pH, light and temperature, have been found to influence bioluminescence, suggesting a link between metabolic activity and fungal bioluminescence.
