Northern Dancer
Survivalist
I've only seen Foxfire once in my life. We were on an overnight camp with senior boys back in my Camp Norval days. I've never seen it since. Any one else?
Foxfire, also sometimes called "fairy fire", is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with a luciferin. It is widely believed that the light attracts insects to spread spores, or acts as a warning to hungry animals, like the bright colours exhibited by some poisonous or unpalatable animal species. Although generally very dim, in some cases foxfire is bright enough to read by.
We came across a sample that looked like this. When we shone our flashlights on it the glow disappeared until we turn the lights off. Fascinating and interesting it was the talk of the group for days after.
Foxfire, also sometimes called "fairy fire", is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with a luciferin. It is widely believed that the light attracts insects to spread spores, or acts as a warning to hungry animals, like the bright colours exhibited by some poisonous or unpalatable animal species. Although generally very dim, in some cases foxfire is bright enough to read by.
We came across a sample that looked like this. When we shone our flashlights on it the glow disappeared until we turn the lights off. Fascinating and interesting it was the talk of the group for days after.