Glowing plants are pleasant to look at. Turns out, a simple method for loading glow-in-the-dark particles onto succulent leaves can make these plants prettier—and more useful.
In a Matter paper published today, researchers showcase glow-in-the-dark succulents—popular plant buddies—that recharge using sunlight. For years, scientists and engineers have dreamed of harnessing glowing greenery for sustainable lighting, but most attempts, typically through genetic engineering, have achieved limited success.
The new method doesn’t tamper with the plant’s genes. Instead, the scientists injected leaves with tiny afterglow particles. These phosphors—similar to what makes toys glow in the dark—allow the succulents to glow brighter. This method is a lot cheaper than genetic engineering, and so far hasn’t appeared to harm the plant’s health. Most importantly, these succulents now come in different colors.
“We were especially inspired by the fact that inorganic persistent luminescent materials can be ‘charged’ by light and then release it slowly as afterglow,” Shuting Liu, study lead author and a bioengineer at South China Agricultural University, told Gizmodo.
Liu’s team wanted to see if they could integrate these phosphors into plants “to move beyond the usual color limitations of plant luminescence and to give plants a new, photosynthesis-independent way to store and release light—essentially, a living, light-charged plant lamp,” Liu explained.
Succulent affinity to glow-ups
Succulents weren’t the team’s initial focus. These beloved houseplants feature thicker barrier tissues, so the researchers assumed that the phosphor particles would get stuck on the surface or around the roots. And so, the researchers predicted they’d have a better shot with thinner plants such as the golden pothos or bok choy.
To their surprise, however, actual tests revealed that succulents “exhibit higher loading capacity and more uniform luminescence,” according to the paper. Specifically, the particles traveled most efficiently within the narrow, uniform channels of Echeveria “Mebina” leaves. After identifying the best plant candidate, the team went through trial and error trying to find the ideal particle size, injection pressure, injection volume, and soil porosity.
Finally, they arrived at a simple, low-cost formula that loads the phosphors onto the plant’s mesophyll cell wall, a section of the leaf where photosynthesis takes place. This wall acts as a “luminescence wall” that hosts the particles, Liu said. Each particle measures around seven micrometers, approximately the width of a red blood cell.
An engineering dream blooms into reality
Depending on the phosphor type, the succulents donned different hues of light—green, red, or blue—and retained their glow after “charging” themselves with sunlight or LED light. Using Liu’s favorite glow, green, the team crafted a wall of glowing succulents to showcase its luminance against daily objects, such as a book or a figurine.
“I also really like the cyan and red glows because they’re so novel; it’s striking to see a living plant emit multiple colors,” she added. “Those hues also make me imagine a future warm‑white glowing plant—visually comfortable and potentially more practical for ambient lighting.”
The new approach paints a promising future for sustainable, plant-based lighting. For now, Liu wants to conduct further “rigorous, long-term biosafety evaluations” to ensure that this future is also a good one for the succulents involved.