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Mycena crocata, the saffron drop bonnet, is a known mushroom species newly documented to produce bioluminescence. The Swiss finding was reported in a peer-reviewed paper published in 2024; it was not the discovery of a new species. Its faint green light comes chiefly from hidden mycelium, not the mushroom cap, and the ecological purpose of the glow remains unknown.
What mushroom glows in Switzerland?
The fungus is Mycena crocata, also known as the saffron drop bonnet because it releases saffron-coloured sap. Zurich-based artists Heidy Baggenstos and Andreas Rudolf noticed green light through a camera while walking in the Albisrieden area of Zurich. They initially suspected Mycena haematopus, a known luminous species, but identification showed the fungus was M. crocata. WSL mycologist Renate Heinzelmann joined the work to characterize it and examine its genetics.
The finding was published in Mycoscience on 21 May 2024. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) described it publicly on 7 January 2025. The artists carried out most of the experiments, including collecting samples, photography and light measurements; the work was not simply a conventional laboratory discovery. WSL’s account and the 2024 paper detail the finding.
Was it a new mushroom species?
No. Mycena crocata was already a known species reported in Europe and elsewhere. What was newly documented was its ability to emit bioluminescence. The discovery adds a trait to the understanding of a familiar fungus; it does not establish a new species.
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Which part of the mushroom glows?
The mycelium—the network of fine fungal threads growing through its food source—is the main luminous part. The visible fruiting body is generally not luminous, apart from the base of the stem (stipe); the stem itself glowed only rarely in the study. This means the brightest signal may be inside decaying wood rather than on the mushroom a person sees above ground.
The glow is weak. Darkness and dark-adapted vision, sensitive imaging or a luminometer may be needed to detect it. In the study, roughly one-third of cultivated isolates did not show camera-detectable emission under the reported assessment. The authors note that this could reflect detection limits or conditions; the result does not establish that every specimen glows visibly or that all non-detections were truly non-luminous.
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What colour is the glow, and how long does it last?
The 2024 study measured an emission peak of 520–530 nanometres in the M. crocata isolates it examined, within the green part of the visible spectrum. That is a study measurement, not a guarantee that every specimen will look the same to the eye or camera.
| Setting | Observed duration | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Infected, decaying wood in the reported observations | Usually detectable for a few hours; WSL’s account says up to 4 hours | The light faded as split wood dried. This is an observation under those conditions, not a field guarantee. |
| Pure mycelial culture under optimal conditions | Up to 164 days, according to WSL | This was persistence in laboratory culture, not the duration of glow in a natural forest. |
The comparison matters: light in a drying piece of wood was temporary, while suitable laboratory conditions sustained luminous cultures much longer. Neither duration is a population-wide estimate.
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How does fungal bioluminescence work?
Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction; unlike fluorescence, it does not need an external light source to make the organism glow. WSL describes the fungal process as luciferin being converted by luciferase, releasing energy as light. The paper discusses a pathway involving hispidin synthase, hispidin-3-hydroxylase, luciferase and caffeylpyruvate hydrolase.
The study connects the observed emission with relevant genes and the fungal light-producing pathway. That evidence helps describe how light can be made, but it does not explain what ecological purpose the glow serves.
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Why does Mycena crocata glow?
That remains unsettled. In some fungi, insect attraction and the dispersal of spores have been proposed as possible functions of light. Those explanations do not readily account for the strongest glow in M. crocata occurring in hidden mycelium. WSL mycologist Renate Heinzelmann put the uncertainty this way: “It seems that bioluminescence has been maintained for a long time, so we assume it has some function”, says Heinzelmann, “but it’s still a mystery.”
Could other familiar mushrooms also glow?
The authors consider it likely that some known Mycena species have luminous properties that have gone undetected. That is a hypothesis about overlooked species, not confirmation that any particular additional species glows. Weak light can be missed, and the study’s camera non-detections show why absence of a visible signal is not by itself proof that a specimen cannot emit light.
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