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Funny enough, my glow in the dark petunias (a nightshade, same family as tobacco) from light.bio put me on a gardening kick. I’ve been looking for native specie

Funny enough, my glow in the dark petunias (a nightshade, same family as tobacco) from light.bio put me on a gardening kick. I’ve been looking for native species to throw in my yard. I’m going to harvest seeds from some American bird's-foot trefoil from the seasonal streams in a field I’m checking tomorrow for work.

konfusinomicon 2y ago
i wish the fireflies glowed with the same luminosity as they did in the ads. mine are so faint you have to be in a dark room to see them
- Modified3019 2y ago
  Certainly. They can’t even really compete with street lights, usually. (The brightness fluctuates) I think the marketing material was highly inadvisable to put it kindly. Due to my experience with taking pictures outdoors, I’m familar with how cameras are close to nightvision (dusk can look like day) so I knew what I was getting and am pleased with them, but I think others were misled. They are working on increasing brightness and different species, but it’s not gonna be easy. My understanding is that perceived brightness is logarithmic, so getting just twice the brightness may be a tall ask from plant metabolism and energy reserves. If they could limit glow to just the flowers or other specific parts, that’d be more viable for plant health. Another issue is that the plant cells themselves trap and absorb much of the light. You’d need some kind of cellular microstructures like actual fireflies have that optimize emission (https://raog.ca/lightening-bugs-how-fireflies-inspired-leds/ https://raog.ca/lightening-bugs-how-fireflies-inspired-leds/). My understanding is that they tested many species, and this variety petunia had the best performance thus far. Some people have grown crossbred seed, and it’s possible that the resulting higher amounts of chlorophyll result in a somewhat darker plant. As an aside, firefly petunias seem particularly susceptible to fasciation, with occasional flowers with double petals, and mutant ribbon stems. I’m curious if this variety was already like that, or if the genetic manipulation was a factor. Another aside, if you want something that’s impressively bright (though only for a second), consider dinoflagellates. A bit easier to care for than these petunias: https://pyrofarms.com/ https://pyrofarms.com/
  - konfusinomicon 2y ago
    another interesting note is that a much larger leaved purple petunia has come up in the same pot they are in and i have absolutely no idea how it got there. it doesnt glow so perhaps it was accidentally included in the original plants dirt

konfusinomicon 2y ago

i wish the fireflies glowed with the same luminosity as they did in the ads. mine are so faint you have to be in a dark room to see them

Modified3019 2y ago
Certainly. They can’t even really compete with street lights, usually. (The brightness fluctuates) I think the marketing material was highly inadvisable to put it kindly. Due to my experience with taking pictures outdoors, I’m familar with how cameras are close to nightvision (dusk can look like day) so I knew what I was getting and am pleased with them, but I think others were misled. They are working on increasing brightness and different species, but it’s not gonna be easy. My understanding is that perceived brightness is logarithmic, so getting just twice the brightness may be a tall ask from plant metabolism and energy reserves. If they could limit glow to just the flowers or other specific parts, that’d be more viable for plant health. Another issue is that the plant cells themselves trap and absorb much of the light. You’d need some kind of cellular microstructures like actual fireflies have that optimize emission (https://raog.ca/lightening-bugs-how-fireflies-inspired-leds/ https://raog.ca/lightening-bugs-how-fireflies-inspired-leds/). My understanding is that they tested many species, and this variety petunia had the best performance thus far. Some people have grown crossbred seed, and it’s possible that the resulting higher amounts of chlorophyll result in a somewhat darker plant. As an aside, firefly petunias seem particularly susceptible to fasciation, with occasional flowers with double petals, and mutant ribbon stems. I’m curious if this variety was already like that, or if the genetic manipulation was a factor. Another aside, if you want something that’s impressively bright (though only for a second), consider dinoflagellates. A bit easier to care for than these petunias: https://pyrofarms.com/ https://pyrofarms.com/
- konfusinomicon 2y ago
  another interesting note is that a much larger leaved purple petunia has come up in the same pot they are in and i have absolutely no idea how it got there. it doesnt glow so perhaps it was accidentally included in the original plants dirt