And I though that glowing fungi was just something lazy D&Ders dreamed up to explain the presence of light in a dungeon.
Perfect for the season.
I wonder why they do it?
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your Mycology”
– Richard de Mille (presumably with apologies to Shakespeare)
There used to be a nifty exhibit of such bioluminescence at the American Museum of Natural History, in the Hall of Invertebrates just outside the Hall of Ocean Life. I think it’s gone now.
The glow from dead matter and from fungi was called “FoxFire”, a corruption of “Folks’ Fire”, meaning the Fairy Folk. In David Busnell’s submarine "The Turtle, they used a piece of wood covered with such luminescent fungi to light a compass, the only instrument, so that the operator could tell where he was going and not have to use a candle, which would exhaust his breathing air.
as for why they do it, bioluminescence in nature seems to be used in conjunction with luring things in. If not mates (as with fireflies and flashlight fish), then to lure in prey or possible vectors. I’ll bet the fungi have something to do with attracting insects or something so the spores can spread.