Scientists Created Glow-in-the-Dark Houseplants You Can Buy

In 2024, something that sounds like pure science fiction became reality: you can now buy a houseplant that glows in the dark. No batteries, no charging, no gimmicks—just a living petunia that emits a soft green glow when the lights go out.

Light Bio, a biotech startup in Idaho, engineered these "Firefly Petunias" using DNA from bioluminescent mushrooms found in Brazilian forests. The plants started shipping to U.S. customers in spring 2024 for about $29 each, making this the first time genetically-modified glowing plants have been commercially available to the public.

How Do You Make a Plant Glow?

The secret ingredient comes from Neonothopanus nambi, a mushroom species that naturally glows in the dark. Scientists isolated the genes responsible for this bioluminescence and inserted them into petunia DNA. The result? Plants that produce their own light through a chemical reaction involving oxygen and a compound called luciferin.

Unlike fireflies that flash on and off, these petunias glow continuously throughout the night. The flowers themselves shine brightest, especially the youngest blooms, while stems and leaves emit a dimmer glow. During the day, they look like normal white petunias—the magic only happens after dark.

The glow is best viewed in complete darkness, similar to moonlight filtering through a window. You won't be reading a book by petunia-light anytime soon, but in a pitch-black room, the effect is unmistakably eerie and beautiful.

Could These Replace Your Desk Lamp?

Here's where things get interesting. Current bioluminescent plants emit around 10 billion photons per minute from their flowers—visible to the naked eye but nowhere near bright enough to illuminate a room. Researchers at MIT and other institutions have been steadily improving the technology, increasing glow duration from 45 minutes in 2015 to over 4 hours today.

Light Bio is working with genetics company Ginkgo Bioworks to create next-generation plants that could be 10 times brighter or more. The long-term vision? Plants that function as self-powered desk lamps, street trees that eliminate the need for electric lighting, and naturally-lit indoor spaces that never need a light switch.

Scientists see potential applications beyond novelty houseplants:

• Self-illuminating streetlights using engineered trees
• Low-intensity safety lighting in hallways and stairwells
• Decorative architectural lighting that's completely sustainable
• Research tools for studying plant biology in real-time

The technology still faces challenges—brightness remains limited, the glow only comes in green wavelengths, and genetic engineering complexity makes improvements slow. But the fact that you can order a glowing plant online today suggests we're past the "if" stage and well into the "when."

The Weird Reality of Designer Plants

Multiple companies are now racing to create brighter, more diverse bioluminescent plants. Toronto-based Glowleaf is developing alternative approaches, while university labs worldwide are experimenting with different gene combinations and plant species. Spinach, kale, watercress, and tobacco plants have all been successfully engineered to glow.

The USDA approved Firefly Petunias with relatively few restrictions, treating them similarly to other genetically-modified ornamental plants. Light Bio shipped 50,000 plants in their first batch, and they're already working on expanding to other species.

We're living in a timeline where your nightlight could be a potted plant, and your backyard tree might replace the streetlamp. Whether that's wonderfully futuristic or mildly unsettling probably depends on how you feel about genetically-modified organisms—but either way, the glow-in-the-dark houseplant era has officially begun.