What is it Wednesday: October 13, 2021

 

Can you identify what's in this photo?

 

 

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

 

 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

 

 

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

October 13, 2021. 

 

 

 

And the answer is....

The fungus most visible in this photo is Panellus stipticus, also known as bitter oyster. 

This was a bit of a trick question, because what makes this fungus special is not visible in daylight, and is very difficult to photograph – it glows in the dark!

Bioluminescent fungi use the same chemicals to glow that fireflies use to flash – luciferin and luciferase. But the ways fireflies and fungi add oxygen to these chemicals to make them light up are different, and the ways the chemicals are synthesized inside their cells are different too. Only live tissue of the fungus glows, and only in certain conditions, like the proper temperatures, amount of sunlight, and pH. In some places glowing fungus is known as foxfire.

Jack-o-lanterns, a common orange mushroom found in abundant clusters around Lutherlyn, is another fungus that can glow in the dark.

We spotted several patches of the Panellus stipticus glowing fungus last week along Chapel Hill Lane between Terra Dei and the Rec Center. You can see from the additional pictures that there are actually at least three different types of fungi on this log on the logs nearby, and only one small section of fungus that glows.

Seeing an unidentified glow in the forest might have been pretty spooky in the times before people understood bioluminescence. At Halloween it’s fun to think about things in nature that may seem a little scary at first but after learning more are no longer scary but are very interesting! Happy Halloween everyone! 

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!