Скачать или смотреть Armillaria foxfire, fungus induced glowing wood

Foxfire is a general term for many bioluminescent fungi growing on wood. Armillaria sp. are one of them. Unlike many other foxfire species, Armillaria mushrooms (fruit bodies) are not bioluminescent. Only the mycelium in the wood is bioluminescent.

For the time lapse sequence a log of wood in which Armillaria mycelium was growing has been cut and taken in a dark studio. The hour count shows the time since the log has been cut. All the camera settings were constant during the whole process, all differences in luminosity are due to the fungus glowing differently.

An human eye fully adapted to darkness is more sensitive than this camera with these settings. Armillaria wood usually emits enough light to be visible by a fully dark-adapted eye for several days.


Armillaria is often described as a very serious forest pathogen. From personal experience I found that it is an extremely common fungus (I could find it in almost every patch of forest which has enough humidity for moss growth and where there is dead wood, and it is there present on most stumps). The fungus doesn’t seem to be a major problem for healthy trees. But I am no specialist in forestry.

For better timelapse sequences of glowing Armillaria wood:    • Armillaria bioluminescence (with timelapses)