The oldest recorded documentation of foxfire is from 382 B.C., by Aristotle, whose notes refer to a light that, unlike fire, was cold to the touch.
The mysterious forest glow, is also sometimes referred to as “fairy fire,” was first observed thousands of years ago when Aristotle described a light emanating from the woods.
Later, in the first century, Roman thinker Pliny the Elder, described luminescent mushrooms on white wood in olive groves.
In the following centuries, scholars remarked upon the luminescent properties of mushrooms and the cultural uses of these fungi—in the 1500’s, a Swedish scholar noted that Scandinavians used luminescent fungi for light during dark, winter nights, and in the 1600’s, a Dutch physician noted that Indonesian cultures used them as improvised torches.
The “fox” in “foxfire” may derive from the Old French word fols, meaning “false”, rather than from the name of the animal, but the association of foxes with such fires is widespread, and even occurs in Japanese folklore.
Foxfire was again at use in one of the most famous inventions of the American Revolution – a submarine called the Turtle.
Invented by Connecticut patriot David Bushnell in the 1770s, the real-life story of the Turtle seems too fantastical to be true.
Even its strange design – a round wooden contraption with a small copper tower, detachable gunpowder kegs, and all sorts of hand-cranks, pedals, screws, and knobs – seems more appropriate to the world of Victorian steampunk fiction than the 18th century.
Yale was a fresh breeding ground for Patriot activity, and counts among its graduates Nathan Hale and Benjamin Tallmadge, Washington’s head of intelligence, responsible for creating the first spy ring in the United States that took down Benedict Arnold.
In addition to these military men, Yale freshman David Bushnell constructed the first Turtle to carry explosives to put onto British ships.
It was also discussed and dramatized by the AMC Series Turn.
The Turtle was manufactured with two oak shells bound by iron hoops, somewhat similar to the ubiquitous water tanks which are made of cedar and held together by the pressure of steel hoops.
The Turtle was further waterproofed along the seam using oakrum, a fiber.
As the TURN website explains, “The Turtle was piloted by using a hand-cranked propeller to move the vessel forward, and a bilge and crank to submerge and resurface the sub.
In calm seas, the Turtle had a top speed of about three miles per hour.
The original description of the Turtle’s form and function as written by Dr. Benjamin Gale in November, 1775. (It reads like a science fiction novel!)
There was a series of glass port holes on the top of the Turtle, where its hatch met its hull. These provided light during daytime operations and a very basic view for navigational purposes.
Since she would mainly operate at night, and a flame would asphyxiate her single crewman, internal illumination was provided by a cork that was covered in bio luminescent fungus called Foxfire.
Although generally very dim, in some cases foxfire is bright enough to read by.
This was commonly thought to have been suggested for use by Benjamin Franklin; a reading of the correspondence from Benjamin Gale, however, shows Franklin was only consulted for alternative forms of lighting when the cold temperatures rendered the foxfire inactive.
Foxfire was used to illuminate the needles on the barometer and the compass of Turtle.
The Turtle, the world’s first submarine used in military combat.
This acorn shaped one-man submarine appeared in New York harbor on September 6, 1776 for an attack on the HMS Eagle, which was moored off of Governors Island.
photo:
One type of bio-luminescent fungus. Foxfire light is often very dim.
This photo is the result of a 30-second exposure!
In real life, a sergeant Ezra Lee commanded the Turtle and made it all the way to the HMS Eagle but was unable to attach the explosive.
The Turtle was spotted by British soldiers on Governors Island, who rowed out into the harbor.
Lee released the charge into the harbor which drifted into the East River and detonated “with tremendous violence,” according to Lee (although there have been no corroborating stories of this incident on the British side).
A month later, after an attempt on anther British vessel, the Turtle was sunk on a transport vessel off Fort Lee, New Jersey.
After many more literary references to foxfire by early scientists and naturalists, its cause was discovered in 1823.
The glow emitted from wooden support beams in mines was examined, and it was found that the luminescence came from fungal growth.
Foxfire, also called fairy fire or chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood.
It occurs in a number of species, including Panellus stipticus, Omphalotus olearius, and Omphalotus nidiformis.
The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with a luciferin.
Some believe that the light attracts insects to spread spores, or acts as a warning to hungry animals, like the bright colors exhibited by some poisonous or unpalatable animal species.
Currently, 71 different species of fungi have been identified as bioluminescent (capable of glowing in the dark), but scientists are still puzzling over the exact chemical properties that enable this bioluminescence.
However, the U.S.-Brazilian study published March 2015 bolsters evidence that mushrooms emit light at night to attract beetles and other insects that might then spread the mushroom’s spores, much like flowers use shape, colors, and scents to attract bees and other potential pollinators.
The researchers studied Neonothopanus gardneri, a Brazilian species, and found that the species regulates its bioluminescence through circadian rhythms—the mushroom’s levels of luciferin, reductase, and luciferase (the chemical compound and enzymes that combine to produce light) peak at night, attracting insects that might not otherwise be able to locate the mushrooms in the dark.
