Human Evolution & Archaeology Rainy season brings glow-in-the-dark mushrooms 24 May 2006 With the arrival of Japan's rainy season, a mysterious type of green, glow-in-the-dark mushroom begins to sprout in Wakayama prefecture. The Mycena lux-coeli mushrooms, known locally as shii no tomobishi-dake (literally, "chinquapin glow mushrooms"), sprout from fallen chinquapin trees. As they grow, a chemical reaction involving luciferin (a light-emitting pigment contained within the mushrooms) occurs, causing them to glow a ghostly green. The luminescent mushrooms were long believed to be indigenous solely to Tokyo's Hachijojima Island after they were discovered there in the early 1950s. In 1995, however, mycologists found the fungus growing wild in coastal areas of the southern Kii peninsula, as well as in Kyushu and other areas. The mushrooms thrive in humid environments, popping up during Japan's rainy season, which typically lasts from the end of May to July. [Source: Mainichi Shimbun]
Mycologists So-Called Life Box - Environment - GOOD The resourceful mycologist (that's a fungi-studier) Paul Stamets has made cardboard packaging that can be planted and will grow into trees. It's called the Life Box. The Life Box suite of products builds upon the synergy of fungi and plants by infusing spores and seeds together inside of packaging materials that can be planted. The Tree Life Box is made of recycled paper fiber. In this fiber, we have inserted a wide variety of tree seeds, up to a hundred, dusted with mycorrhizal fungal spores. The mycorrhizal fungi protect and nurture the young seedlings. Here's a video of Stamets (wearing a hat that makes him look a little like a mushroom himself) explaining how the Life Box works on local San Francisco news. If you run a company that could use these instead of normal cardboard, I will happily post about how responsible you are if you pledge to switch to these things. Via Core77