Neonothopanus gardneri

Neonothopanus gardneri, locally known as flor de coco, is a bioluminescent fungus native to Goiás, Piauí and Tocantins states in Brazil. The fungus was first discovered in 1839 by the English botanist George Gardner, after he came across some youths playing with glowing material in the streets of Villa de Natividade in Goiás state in Brazil. Initially thinking it was a firefly, he then discovered it was a mushroom—known as Flor de Coco locally—that was common locally and found on decaying palm leaves. Gardner sought to call it Agaricus phosphorescens. However, his colleague Miles Joseph Berkeley opined that the attribute was not unique, and hence described it with the specific name A. gardneri. Gardner thought it resembled members of the genus Pleurotus in structure, while Berkeley felt it was more akin to the genus Panus but conceded spores were necessary for further classification. It was rediscovered in February 2005 by scientists Patricia Izar, Elisabetta Visalberghi and Dorothy F......read more on Wikipedia.