Bioluminescent Fungi
Hello, my name is Swara Chandorkar, and I am going to share my night-time bioluminescent fungi-finding experience. Bioluminescent Fungi are fungi that glow in the dark. This happens due to a chemical called Luciferin present in them. To get a good look at them, one should only try to find them in pitch darkness, and in a slightly moist jungle. Observing these fungi is a very unique experience as they are only seen in the western ghats, during the monsoon season. I had seen photos of this fungi on National Geographic and in a few documentaries too, so I was feeling really excited and curious about how it would actually look like. And to be honest, I never thought that I would get to see them from such a small distance from Pune. My parents and I left at around 8:30pm. With us was Dr. Sachin Punekar, who has expertise in the field of fungi and would guide us on the roads in the jungle of Tamhini and help us spot not only the bioluminescent fungi, but other amazing wildlife. I though...