Currently 37 species of luminous mushrooms are recorded from Japan [1] [2]. For examples, ‘Night light mushroom' Mycena chlorophos is one of the brightest luminescent species distributing mainly in subtropical Izu Islands and Ryukyu Islands. ‘Moon night mushroom' Omphalotus japonicusappearing at mountainous area of Japan mainland in autumn, is huge (sometimes over 50 cm diameter) and famous for their gastrointestinal toxicity. In this presentation, we show the characteristics of these Japanese mushroom species, and also introduce our recent examinations for spore ingestion by insects to investigate the ecological function of the bioluminescence using M. chlorophos and O. japonicus.

1. Katsumoto, K. List of Fungi Recorded in Japan. (Nihonsan Kinrui Shuran). Kyoto: The Kanto Branch of the Mycological Society of Japan (In Japanese), 2010.

2. Living Lights List. https://www3.chubu.ac.jp/faculty/oba_yuichi/