Light is a basic environmental factor for plant growth and development. Light not only supplies energy for plant growth through photosynthesis, but is also an important regulatory factor for plant growth and development. The growth of black fungus is naturally inseparable from light.
The nutrients needed by black fungus are directly absorbed by the mycelium from the culture medium and cultivation material, instead of using sunlight like green plants, they produce organic nutrients by themselves through photosynthesis. However, the normal growth of black fungus is still closely related to light.
Light can promote the growth of black fungus from vegetative growth to reproductive growth, which may be related to light-induced or light-activated enzymes in the physiological transformation of fungi. If light is given during the growth of hyphae, the hyphae will gather on the surface of the medium and become brown gelatinous, and secrete pigment, resulting in the brown color of the whole medium.
Under low light conditions, the fruiting body grows weakly and is beige or light brown; under sufficient light conditions, the fruiting body is dark in color and grows robust and hypertrophic. Studies have shown that under the lighting conditions of 15 lux, the fruiting bodies of black fungus are white; under the lighting conditions of 200-400 lux, the fruiting bodies are light brown; under the lighting conditions above 400 lux, the fruiting bodies are black; Ear buds that form in low-light areas tend to be misshapen.
Due to long-term living in different latitudes and various microclimates, black fungus requires different light. In cold regions, the fruiting body of black fungus has a darker color (more melanin), which is more conducive to heat absorption. For example, the northeastern regions such as Changbai Mountain in Jilin have long sunshine hours and rich forest resources, which are one of the best growing places for black fungus.