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Foxfire, also sometimes called "fairy fire", is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with luciferin. It is widely believed 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Foxfire:Bioluminescent Fungi )〕 Although generally very dim, in some cases foxfire is bright enough to read by.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Bioluminescent Fungi )〕 ==History== 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 Roman thinker Pliny the Elder also mentioned glowing wood in olive groves.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Foxfire: Bioluminescence in the Forest )〕 Foxfire was used to illuminate the needles on the barometer and the compass of ''Turtle'', an early submarine.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=The Submarine Turtle: Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War )〕 This is commonly thought to have been suggested by Benjamin Franklin; a reading of the correspondence from Benjamin Gale, however, shows that Benjamin Franklin was only consulted for alternative forms of lighting when the cold temperatures rendered the foxfire inactive. 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Bioluminescent foxfire, Bioluminescence facts, Bioluminescent fungi )〕 The "fox" in "foxfire" may derive from the Old French word ''fols'', meaning "false", rather than from the name of the animal.〔Smythe Palmer, Abram, ''The Folk and Their Word-lore: An Essay on Popular Etymologies'' (1904)〕 The association of foxes with such fires is widespread, however, and occurs in Japanese folklore. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Foxfire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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