Some good friends of mine recently e-mailed me seeking advice
on a strange glow coming from fallen (decomposing) logs here in
northern Ohio. While not seeing this luminescence I was pretty
sure it is the foxfire of myth and fable.
Here's what I'd like to know (I'm a novice with the fungi)
1. Is there a good review article, book chapter etc either recent
or vintage which elaborates the mechanism surrounding foxfire?
2. Is this phenomena restricted to certain families or genera? Is
the luminescence restricted to individual species or does it
occur throughout all members of the genera or family?
3. How common is this? Could you say that one could definitely
find it in an autumn night hike or is it relatively rare?
4. How could I save a sample of this for future classwork say six
months hence? Could I simply put it in a zip lock bag? Should I
transplant it to a rotting log? Would liquid nitrogen help preserve
it? Can the fungi be grown in pure culture? What media? What
cultural conditions?
Any information or further direction would be appreciated.
Thanks
David J. Gerrick
Dayton Lab-Natural Products Group
