foxfire
Rotting wood's luminescence
Foxfire is the faint greenish glow produced by certain fungi growing on decaying wood.
The luminescence comes from bioluminescent species that colonize rotting logs in forests.
The phenomenon has inspired folk explanations and gives an eerie quality to nighttime woods: We spotted foxfire glowing on a fallen oak.
Organic matter decomposing
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
- mushroomFleshy fungal body
- deadwoodUnproductive people or things
log · stump · moist · forest floor · organic · breakdown · mycelium · spores
Bioluminescent beetle larvae
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
- luminescenceHeatless light emission
- glowingGiving off steady light
- luminousEmitting or reflecting light
bioluminescent · chemiluminescence · fluorescence · light-emitting · shimmering · fungal · decay · rotting wood
Misleading light over wetlands
- jack-o'-lanternCarved pumpkin with light
- corpse candleSpectral flame foretelling death
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
omen · traveler · lost · lure · mislead · marsh · haunted · Appalachian
rotting
Organic matter decomposing
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
- mushroomFleshy fungal body
deadwood · log · stump · moist · forest floor · organic · breakdown · mycelium · spores · woodland
glowworms
Bioluminescent beetle larvae
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
- luminescenceHeatless light emission
- glowingGiving off steady light
luminous · bioluminescent · chemiluminescence · fluorescence · light-emitting · shimmering · fungal · decay · rotting wood · mycelium
will-o'-the-wisp
Misleading light over wetlands
- jack-o'-lanternCarved pumpkin with light
- corpse candleSpectral flame foretelling death
- legendUnverified traditional tale
superstition · omen · traveler · lost · lure · mislead · marsh · haunted · Appalachian · Ozark
- glowglow, gleam, glimmer, shimmer, radiance
- things that glowglow-worm, glowstick, glow paint, radium dial, dinoflagellate
- Bioluminescenceglowworm, glow worm, lightning bug, anglerfish, lanternfish
- cold lightbioluminescence, light emission, fireflies, glow sticks, lightsticks
- light sourcesflashlight, lamp, candle, sunlight, moonlight
- luminescenceluminescence, fluorescence, phosphorescence, bioluminescence, chemiluminescence
foxfireartificial light
Non-solar brightness source
electric light · fluorescent lamp · incandescent bulb · neon light · LED
foxfiresunlight
Radiance from our star
spotlight · floodlight · blinding light · glare · searchlight
foxfirelightning
Atmospheric electrical discharge
flash · camera flash · explosion · spark · strobe light
fire, fox, fireplace, foxy, fireball, fireman, firefly, fireside, fireproof