Bright side of the night – 2.2.9

Fungi

Fungi are widespread. The vast majority are land-dwelling. Fungi feed on organic nutrients in their environment, which they usually break down by releasing enzymes, thereby making them soluble and available to themselves. According to today’s science, fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.

Talking Fungi

A study published in 2022[1] examined the electrical impulses of the hyphae of some fungal species. The phases of electrical activity were species-specific and lasted from one to 21 hours. According to the study, some fungal species use up to 50 “words”, 15-20 of them more frequently. This means fungi possibly communicate with each other through these electrical impulses, similar the communication of trees with the help of their roots, or, to neuronal networks.

Turning Night into Day

Fungi do not follow a daily rhythm, just like animals or plants; those that do are an exception. Mycelia mostly grow in the dark. When hyphal tips reach the surface of the substrate exposed to light, the light – or more precisely, its blue components – stimulates the formation of spores. The development of fruiting bodies can also be light-dependent.

Glowing fungi

The following example fungi have the gift of bioluminescence. Similar to the firefly, the glow is caused by a chemical reaction involving the enzyme luciferase. It is unclear why the fungi glow. Possible explanations are that it is to scare off predators or to attract insects that can help spread the fungal spores.

Honey fungus

The Honey Yellow Hallimasch (Armillaria mellea) is found almost worldwide and is relatively common in Europe. The fungus occurs mainly in parks, gardens and on root wood in meadows. It mainly colonizes deciduous wood. The fruiting bodies appear in late summer and autumn. It grows on rotten, dead wood and on weakened trees. The parasitic infestation of the fungus leads to the death of the host tree. Wood infested with mycelium glows green-yellow in the dark in certain weather conditions. This bioluminescence is also known from other Hallimasch species occurring in Europe.

Dark Olive Tree Trumpet Mushroom

The warmth-loving dark olive (Omphalotus olearius) is widespread and fairly common in the Mediterranean region, but very rare in Central Europe. Its mycelium and lamellae show the phenomenon of bioluminescence. It lives on dead and dying deciduous tree wood and usually grows in clumps on olive trees, sometimes also on oaks or sweet chestnuts. The fruiting body appears from July to October. The dark olive tree funnel cake is very poisonous, although not lethally so.

[1] Andrew Adamatzky. 2022. Language of fungi derived from their electrical spiking activity. R. Soc. open sci 9 (4): 211926; doi: 10.1098/rsos.211926

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*Dark Olive Tree Trumpet Mushroom. Image by* danieleritella ̶ *iNaturalist.*

*Yellow Hallimash. Image by Silberkugel66 ̶ Pixabay*

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Images

Glowing Hallimasch. Image by Katrin Lugerbauer.