FoxFire?

Anyone ever hear of foxfire?
My grandma was telling me about how when she was a little girl she saw stuff glowing on the trees ........ she asked her grandpa and he told her it was foxfire. It growes on dead wood usually after it rains..... any info on this? I look it up in the dictionary and its real so........?

There are alot of fungi that glow. It's probably that.

Hi IC/ GRX!!

Fox fire

"

Kathi Kerr & Irv Dardick

Kathi came across a brief note on this phenomenon: "Tonight, the campfire might develop an eerie glow. Is it a sign or an evil omen? It could be, but it is likely foxfire. Decaying wood can contain a luminescent glow-in-the-dark fungus. When it burns, the fire has a special shine called foxfire".

This mystical effect, also referred to as "will-o�-the-wisp" or "faerie fire" is due to the fire-wood being extensively infiltrated by mats of the thread-like body or mycelium of certain fungi (the spore-bearing or fruiting part is the mushroom). In this instance, uniquely, such fungi are bioluminescent. The commonest fungus with this property is the honey mushroom (Armillaria mellea); it is quite widespread.

Could foxfire happen on Eagle Lake? Irv recalls making rounds one pitch-black night at RKY Camp many, many years ago. "Walking along one of the paths without a flashlight from the dining hall to the senior section, I passed a decaying tree stump. An eerie pale bluish-green glow came from patches of the rotting wood and bark. It was arresting and I stood looking at this strange phenomenon for some minutes. I never understood the cause until Kathi brought this piece to my attention and the recollection came flooding back. The explanation was foxfire!"

A bit of research quickly established this is another example of plants and animals with natural bioluminescence. The firefly of our woods is perhaps the best known example, in this case a beetle, producing light through a reaction based on the chemical luciferin as part of the mating ritual. The flying males flash there yellowish light for half a second about every seven seconds. Did you know that the females are flighless and respond to these flashes from the ground or vegetation? "

Hope that helps?

ok thanks everyone....