Abstract— The spontaneous light emission of soybean seeds is enhanced 4–8 times during the first minute after water imbibition. Other solvents are also effective. The temperature dependence of soybean chemiluminescence identifies two reactions with activation energies of 20 and 68 kJ/mol corresponding to the lipoxygenase reaction and to the autoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, respectively. Free radical scavengers and lipoxygenase inhibitors decrease soybean photoemission. The singlet oxygen probe 1,4‐diazabicyclo‐[2,2,2]‐octane (DABCO) increases soybean photoemission. The emission spectra of soybean seeds under a variety of conditions show bands between 450 and 720 nm with 50–70% of the emission over 600 nm. The experimental evidence is consistent with singlet oxygen being one of the emitting species, however, due to the complexity of the system it is likely that other chemiluminescent species are also formed.