''Omphalotus olearius'',Singer R (1948) In: ''Pap. Mich. Acad. Sci.'' 32: 133 ('1946'). commonly known as the jack-o'-lantern mushroom, is a poisonous

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

gilled

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

that to an untrained eye appears similar to some

chanterelle Chanterelle is the common name of several species of fungi in the genera '' Cantharellus'', '' Craterellus'', '' Gomphus'', and ''Polyozellus''. They are among the most popular of wild edible mushrooms. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty a ...

s. It is notable for its

bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fungi, microorganisms including ...

properties. It is found in woodland areas in Europe, where it grows on decaying stumps, on buried roots or at the base of hardwood trees. It has also been reported from the

Western Cape Province The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. A similar, but phylogenetically distinct species found in eastern North America is ''

Omphalotus illudens ''Omphalotus illudens'', commonly known as the eastern jack-o'lantern mushroom, is a large, orange mushroom that is often found in clumps on decaying stumps, buried roots, or at the base of hardwood trees in eastern North America. Its gills of ...

''. Unlike chanterelles, ''Omphalotus olearius'' and other ''Omphalotus'' species contain the toxin

illudin The illudins are a family of sesquiterpenes with antitumor antibiotic properties produced by some mushrooms. In their isolated form, illudins show selective toxicity for myelocytic leukemia and other carcinoma cells. Illudins are highly toxic, w ...

S, and are

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ous to humans. While not lethal, consuming this mushroom leads to very severe

cramp A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the aff ...

vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...

, and

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

Description

The jack-o'-lantern mushroom is orange. Its bioluminescence, a blue-green color, can be observed in fresh specimens in low light conditions once the

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

becomes dark-adapted. The whole mushroom does not glow—only the gills do so. This is due to an

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

called

luciferase Luciferase is a generic term for the class of oxidative enzymes that produce bioluminescence, and is usually distinguished from a photoprotein. The name was first used by Raphaël Dubois who invented the words ''luciferin'' and ''luciferase'', ...

, acting upon a compound called

luciferin Luciferin (from the Latin ''lucifer'', "light-bearer") is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence. Luciferins typically undergo an enzyme-catalyzed reaction with molecular oxygen. The result ...

, leading to the emission of light much as

fireflies The Lampyridae are a family (biology), family of Elateroidea, elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are bioluminescence, light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, ...

do when glowing.

Similar species

Unlike chanterelles, jack-o'-lantern mushrooms have true, sharp, non-forking gills; this is possibly the simplest trait for distinguishing between the two. Furthermore, if the jack-o'-lantern's stem is peeled, the inside is orange, while the chanterelle is paler inside the stem. ''

'' of eastern North America, and the Western jack-o'-lantern mushroom ''

Omphalotus olivascens ''Omphalotus olivascens'', commonly known as the western jack-o'-lantern mushroom, is an orange to brown-colored gilled mushroom native to California and Mexico. Taxonomy The fungus was described as new to science in 1976 by American mycologis ...

'' common in southern to central

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, are both poisonous. The similarly poisonous mushroom Tsukiyotake (''

Omphalotus japonicus ''Omphalotus japonicus'', commonly known as the tsukiyotake , is an orange to brown-colored gilled mushroom native to Japan and Eastern Asia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus ''Omphalotus'', the members of which have bioluminescent fruit ...

'', formerly known as ''Lampteromyces japonicus'', found in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, is also bioluminescent and contains the same poison,

Gallery

File:Omphalotus olearius 33857.jpg, Bioluminescent gills File:Jack_O'_Lantern_Mushroom_Closeup;_Omphalotus_olearius.JPG, Close up of gills Omphalotus olearius - listast himenofor.jpg Omphalotus olearius - listići.jpg Omphalotus olearius 1.jpg Omphalotus olearius 3.jpg Omphalotus olearius100.jpg

References

External links

AmericanMushrooms.com: Jack O'Lantern Mushroom

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1043730 Bioluminescent fungi olearius Poisonous fungi Fungi of Europe

Description

Similar species

See also

Gallery

References

External links