Norfolk Island Fairy Lights – Summer Fungus

The tropical summer weather over the past weeks have brought in moist air and during the last few weeks I have been enjoying photographing the Norfolk Island Fungi. The temperatures and humidity have been high, and the moist air has encouraged fungus and toadstools have started growing.

During the evenings I have enjoyed turning off all the lights and walking the bush and seeing all the glow created in the dark by the mushrooms. They look like fairy lights, so amazing to see. These luminous toadstools were quite small and most of them were growing on the ground, though some were higher off the ground on trees.

Sometimes these mushrooms are called Ghost Fungus. They are bioluminescent, and they emit a pale green light. It is interesting exploring for the fungus, they occur in forest on fallen woody debris such as dead twigs, branches, and old damp logs. When I shone my torch on them, the fungus looked whitish and was very sticky with twigs and insects suck to them.

In 2017, my husband and I visited 100 Acres Reserve one evening, when the fungus were glowing and took photos. I have read that in the Norfolk Island Convict Settlements, the glow in the dark fungus were used by British soldiers during the convict period when they were returning back to their barracks from the Mt Pitt forest.

The only thing I like about the humid weather are this amazing fungus. During the past few weeks, I have been photographing toadstools, there are many varieties on the roadside and on grassy hillsides.

Please take care with the fungi, remember they are poisonous, so DO NOT eat them as they are toxic for humans. If you handle them, always wash your hands after touching them.

Nature never fails to amaze, the beautiful things we get to see on Norfolk Island.

Betty Matthews

February 2022