5 Fascinating Plants That Glow in the Dark

This year seems to be the one to experience the burgeoning allure of glowing plants. Generating intrigue, mystery, and a sense of discovery, plants with bioluminescent qualities are expanding.

What plants glow in the dark? Those engineered with genes from fungi or other bioluminescent sources. So far, bioluminescence doesn’t occur naturally in higher terrestrial plants, but with DNA modifications from bioluminescent species, some have taken on an all-over glow.

While there are implications to consider in this “glowing” industry, the specimens are a marvel. To glow in the garden is a sight we’d expect in the fungi-laden forest or even the deep ocean. Let’s take a closer look and bask in the gentle aura of commercially available glowing specimens and their natural fungi predecessors.

What Makes Plants Glow?

Bioluminescence is a physical phenomenon that produces a cool light (or glow-in-the-dark appearance) that we’re familiar with in aquatic species, from algae to jellyfish. Fireflies, too, show this reaction with inherent organic substances and enzymes.

When crossed with specific genes from bioluminescent species, plants show glowing traits. Certain fungi, important in creating shining plants, possess bioluminescence through chemical reactions. Over 70 species of fungi show bioluminescent qualities, and there’s evidence that some produce light to attract insects that spread their spores. They shine so that the insects find them more easily at night.

History and Environmental Impact

We’ve harnessed the natural light from fungi for centuries, from Scandinavia to Indonesia, as light sources during dark winters and improvised torches. Today, scientists study the role of transgenic bioluminescent plants as possible alternates to artificial light sources. The premise is that organic sources would potentially reduce light pollution and electrical energy usage.

Will our porches and patios be lit by the fluorescence of our favorite ornamentals? Today’s releases tap the market as ornamental features, with the scientific prowess for functioning as artificial light substitutes depending on future breakthroughs and consumerism. 

While plants are often hybridized for improved performance, such as pest and disease resistance and bloom enhancements, the difference here is the trans-species modifications. The effect on the surrounding ecology, including insects, wildlife, and nearby plants, is undetermined.

Other means of achieving outward light that don’t involve genetic modification include sprays or serums, like spraying a compound on the foliage surface to produce a temporary glow. Serums absorbed through regular water uptake by the roots cause petals and veins to light up for months at a time. And, under forced UV light, plant features like chlorophyll and pollen naturally illuminate to sparkle before our eyes.

Firefly Petunia

	common name Firefly Petunia
	botanical name Petunia x hybrida ‘Firefly’
	sun requirements Full sun

Firefly petunias have bright white blooms and leafy foliage like the conventional favorites. What it does at night sets it apart. Genetically engineered to produce light through bioluminescence, Firefly emanates a soft, moonlit glow when the sun goes down or in a dark room. Its bright buds and new growth produce the most light with a continual reaction harnessed by the sun’s energy.

While Firefly petunias are always glowing, we don’t experience their hidden power until the sun goes down. The mysterious glow-in-the-dark creation stems from years of research surrounding bioluminescence. Best viewed at twilight, the petals illuminate a greenish-white fluorescence.

The glowing qualities are a result of mushroom DNA. The annuals have four genes from the bioluminescent mushroom Neonothopanus nambi and a fifth from another fungi. The different genes contribute to a chemical reaction that produces organic light in leaves and flowers.

Firefly was ten years in the making, with a team of 26 scientists in coordination with the company Light Bio of Ketchum, Idaho. The USDA-approved specimen went on the market in late winter of 2024.

Maintaining healthy growth through proper cultural requirements yields the most vigor and the best illumination. Fireflies grow like other petunias and don’t require special care. They accent beds, hanging baskets, and containers and reach eight to ten inches tall.

Foxfire Fungi

	common name Foxfire Fungi
	botanical name Panellus stipticus
	sun requirements Full shade

Foxfire, or fairy fire, is a fungus with inherent bioluminescent properties. It emits a blue-green aura to lure insects like beetles. This attribute is essential to its spread. The insects carry the spores to other hosts and propagate the species.

Captivating the beholder for over 2,000 years, this ancient fungus appears throughout history in folkloric tales. Aristotle first described the light as a “cold fire” emanating from the forest. The layered fungi form vertical stacks along tree trunks, sometimes making the whole tree appear a-lit.

Foxfire thrives in rich soils and decaying, broken-down organic matter. You may come across it on your next evening walk in the woods.

Phalaenopsis Orchid

	common name Phalaenopsis Orchid
	botanical name Phalaenopsis
	sun requirements Bright, indirect light

Talk about cross-species: scientists developed this phenomenon by incorporating genes from marine plankton (Cyridius poppei) into the favorite moth orchid. It’s a conundrum to imagine organisms that glow in the ocean at work in a perfect orchid, perhaps making the blossoms’ allure even more exotic.

The Glowing Phalaenopsis Orchid, from a research group at Chiba University in Japan, is the first of its kind. It debuted at the World Orchid Show in Tokyo in February of 2024.

The white-blooming phalaenopsis takes on a green fluorescence in darkness and under a blacklight. The plant glows from head to toe. This unconventional phalaenopsis has the same care requirements as the popular houseplant moth orchids.

Tillandsia

	common name Tillandsia
	botanical name Tillandsia spp.
	sun requirements Bright, indirect light

Tillandsia species are fine-leaved, silvery-green air plants that absorb water and nutrients epiphytically. The fun tropical houseplants are also popular for turning into glowing specimens, not through genetic modification, but through a compound applied to the leaves. 

A light reaction results from a synthetic nanoparticle in the compound when exposed to UV light. While the glow is short-term, lasting only an hour or two, it’s “recharged” by quick exposure to sunlight.

This coating is reportedly nontoxic and not harmful to people, animals, or the plant itself, but these definitely aren’t natural glowers.

Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom

	common name Jack-O-Lantern Mushroom
	botanical name Omphalotus olearius
	sun requirements Full shade

These poisonous mushrooms are like something out of Alice in Wonderland. Bright orange by day, their natural properties emanate a warm glow by night, dotting the landscape with lantern light. While captivating, they are toxic if ingested. The orange light is a good warning signal from these fungi (many orange creatures in nature are poisonous).

The eerie, enchanting glow is the stuff of witches’ tales. A reaction of the organic substance luciferin with oxygen creates warm fluorescence. 

The mushroom looks similar to a beautiful chanterelle but with funnel-shaped caps and smooth margins, not the frilly gills of the delicious edibles. You’ll find it on decaying branches, trunks, and debris in late summer and fall, just in time for ghosts and ghouls.