Mycena luxaeterna

Mycena luxaeterna, commonly known as the eternal light mushroom, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae. The mushrooms have parachute-shaped caps which start off darkly grayish-brown, changing to grayish-yellow or pale grayish-brown with a pale white ring at the edge when mature, and reach up to 2 cm (0.79 in) in diameter. Their thin, cylindrical, hollow, fragile stems up to 8 mm (0.31 in) in diameter are covered in a thick gel and emit a constant yellow-green bioluminescence (the caps do not glow). The gills are attached. The mushroom has a slightly radish-like smell and similar slightly bitter taste.^[1]

Mycena luxaeterna

Mycena luxaeterna
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Mycenaceae
Genus:	Mycena
Species:	M. luxaeterna
Binomial name
Mycena luxaeterna Desjardin, B.A. Perry & Stevani (2010)
M. luxaeterna is known only from a single site in Iporanga, in São Paulo State, Brazil

Mycena luxaeterna Mycological characteristics
	Gills on hymenium
	Cap is convex
	Hymenium is adnate
	Stipe is bare
	Spore print is white
	Ecology is saprotrophic
	Edibility is unknown

Habitat

The mushroom was discovered in a very limited area of the Atlantic rain forest of São Paulo, Brazil and is known to exist only at this location. It grows on decomposing twigs, rarely on dead leaves or undergrowth, and in clusters of two-to-twenty individuals. Dennis Desjardin is credited with the discovery.^[1]

Uses

The eternal light mushroom has no known nutritional value, contains no known hallucinogens, and is not reported as having any particular cultural significance. Its extreme rarity means that it has never been common in cooking.

See also

• List of bioluminescent fungi