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Panellus stipticus - Susan Farrington
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The
Mingo National Wildlife Refuge foray of the Missouri Mycological
Society last weekend was a combination of great food, mushroom
collecting and identification, great food, fellowship, and did I mention
wonderful food? The highlight of the fungal finds was really a
high-light, glowing brightly in the darkened storeroom. Susan Farrington
found it and tells it this way.
"Coolest mushroom I found today at the Mingo Foray: bioluminescent Panellus stipticus. This thing glows like crazy!! (Much stronger than the jack-o'-lantern). 30 second exposure at 3200 ISO, F 8.0."
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| P. stipticus - Susan Farrington | |
Known by the demeaning names of bitter oyster or the astringent panus,
Panellus stipticus
is found in Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North America. The eastern
U.S. specimens show a bioluminescence not found in the west or other
continents. A single dominant allele found on genetic analysis controls
this function, so it apparently evolved this trait east of the Rockies.
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P. stipticus - Susan Farrington
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P. stipticus
has several other interesting traits. It has been shown to detoxify
some environmental pollutants and is being studied for a potential role
in bioremediation. It has a slightly bitter or astringent taste and
another name, stiptic fungus, comes from its use in China to stop
bleeding. There is much more information including the details of
bioluminesence in this extensive
Wikipedia article.
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| Jack-o'-lantern headed to the bathroom - REK |
When
I think of bioluminescent mushrooms, the jack-o'-lantern immediately
comes to mind. Last year I stood in a crowded blackened bathroom at
Bull Mills with other like-minded adults for longer that I care to admit
and still never saw a glow. Susan has an answer for this.
"You
need a very young and fresh jack. Wrap it in a damp towel in loose
plastic until dark. Take it to very dark place and wait for eyes to
adjust. I found if I look just to the side of if, you can see the faint
glow. By contrast, we could see the Panellus glow brightly from six feet away the second we turned the lights out!"
Jack-o'-lantern,
Omphalotus olearius,
is a much more impressive mushroom in daylight. Although I will
probably stand again in the future in a darkened room with consenting
adults, staring at it, I suspect
P. stipticus has diminished any future thrill.
P.S.- Our friend Georgia took home this "floral" decoration below from a dinner Sunday night and reports, "I checked it out as soon as we got back and after about 3 min in the dark it had quite a light green glow on the gills. Pretty cool."
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| Decorating with fungi |
P.
stipticus photographs by Susan Farrington of the Missouri Department of
Conservation. She is the Natural History Biologist for the Ozark
Region.
