glowing mushroom/fungal culture

[berlant at ptd.net]

In article <19970617043200.AAA24053 at ladder02.news.aol.com>,
   randyfulle at aol.com (RandyFulle) wrote:
>Bioluminescence in Armillaria mellea is a very common occurance. In fresh
>cultures in petri dishes it seems to last for a couple of transfers and
>then quits, no answer as to why. In the field A. mellea forms fans under
>the bark of dead and dying trees and at night when you peel back the bark
>the light show is quite spectacular. The spores of A. mellea are also
>known to possess bioluminescence.

This thread causes me to recall Frazier's discussion (somewhere in The Golden 
Bough) of a practice wherein South American, Australian, or African (?) 
natives, before entering forests at night, smear a certain species of 
bioluminescent fungi on themselves to locate each other and/or play tag. The 
practice is thus comparable to using the bioluminscent organ of fire-flies as 
rings or earrings.    

>Dr. Randy Fuller