Chemistry in pictures: Glow-in-the-dark succulents

These succulents got a glow up from researchers in China who injected the plants with inorganic phosphor particles (Matter 2025, DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102370). The science behind the glow is the same as in many paints and stickers found in children’s rooms the world over: Light puts the material into an excited state, and then energy is slowly released as a glow that can last for hours.

Researchers have made glow-in-the-dark plants before, for example, by adding bioluminescent pathways from mushrooms into plants. You can even buy green-glowing petunias based on that technology in the US. But these new glowing house plants come in a much wider variety of colors because chemists have developed a wide range of phosphor materials over the years.

The succulents were made by a team of researchers, led by Xuejie Zhang at South China Agricultural University, who realized that the plants’ compact microstructure and abundant intercellular spaces are ideal for injection with glow-in-the-dark microparticles. The researchers patented their technology and hope that it could lead to living light features in the future.

Credit: Matter 2025, DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102370

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