Foxfire: Fungal Bioluminescence (3D) — Luciferase Kinetics in Rotting Wood

Environment

Oxygen (O₂, % v/v) 18%

Temperature 20°C

Wood moisture 55%

Decay stage (fresh → spent) 55%

Ambient darkness 70%

Live Readouts

Hyphal nodes

Reaction rate v/vmax

0.00

Temp factor

0.00

O₂ factor (M-M)

0.00

The kinetics behind the glow

Fungal bioluminescence (e.g. Armillaria mellea, honey fungus) comes from a luciferin oxidised by a luciferase-family enzyme, releasing a photon. Like any enzyme reaction its rate depends on temperature and substrate (here, dissolved O₂) availability:

k(T)  = A·exp(-Ea/RT)                (Arrhenius, then denatures above ~30°C)
v(O2) = O2 / (Km + O2)                (Michaelis-Menten, Km≈4%)
rate  = k(T)·v(O2)·moisture(m)·decay(d)

Each glowing point is one node of the growing hyphal network. Its local O₂ is lower the deeper it sits inside the log (oxygen diffuses in from the bark), so nodes near the surface glow brighter at the same ambient O₂ setting. Moisture below ~25% starves the enzyme of water; above ~75% it floods pores and blocks O₂ diffusion — both dim the glow. Decay stage sets how much luciferin-bearing substrate is left: freshly colonised wood and fully spent wood both glow weaker than mid-decay "punky" wood.

Click the log to seed a new colonisation point — the network branches outward from every seed over time.

Drag to orbit · scroll to zoom · click log to seed growth

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