View source for Reference/Glossary

Common terms and abbreviations used by growers and on this wiki.

; Aborts : Pins that stop growing, usually turning dark or shriveled. Typically caused by the surface drying out.
; Agar : A seaweed-derived gel used as a growing surface in petri dishes. See [[Tutorials/Agar/Making Plates|making agar plates]].
; Anastomosis : The fusing of hyphae from two cultures. How dikaryons form, and the basis of [[Tutorials/Genetics/Smash Tek|crossing]].
; Barrage line : A ridge or gap where two incompatible cultures meet on agar and refuse to merge.
; BRF : Brown rice flour. Used in the classic "PF tek" cake method.
; Bulk : Bulk substrate. The large mass of pasteurized material that spawn is mixed into for fruiting.
; Casing layer : A thin layer of moist, low-nutrient material placed on top of colonized substrate to hold moisture and encourage pinning.
; Clamp connection : A small loop at the cell walls of many dikaryotic mycelia, visible under a microscope.
; Clone : A culture grown from a mushroom's living tissue, genetically identical to it. See [[Tutorials/Agar/Cloning from Tissue|cloning from tissue]].
; Coir : Shredded coconut husk. The base of most bulk substrates.
; Colonization : The mycelium growing through and claiming a material.
; Contam : Contamination. Any unwanted mold, bacteria, or yeast. See [[Reference/Contamination|contamination ID]].
; Coprophilic : Dung-loving. Describes species that grow on manure in nature. See [[Tutorials/Substrate/Manure-Based Substrates|manure-based substrates]].
; Cracker dry : Dry enough that a stem snaps cleanly. The target for [[Tutorials/Harvest/Drying and Storage|drying]].
; CVG : Coir, vermiculite, gypsum. The most common bulk substrate. See [[Tutorials/Substrate/Coir and CVG|coir and CVG]].
; Dikaryon : Mycelium whose cells carry two different nuclei, one from each parent. Only dikaryons can fruit.
; Dunk : Soaking a spent cake or tub in water between flushes to rehydrate it.
; Exudate : Yellowish liquid droplets pushed out by mycelium. Not contamination. Also called metabolites.
; FAE : Fresh air exchange. Replacing CO₂-rich air with fresh air, which triggers pinning.
; Field capacity : The maximum water a substrate holds without pooling. A few drops when squeezed hard.
; Flow hood : A fan blowing air through a HEPA filter to create a clean work area.
; Flush : One wave of mushrooms. A tub usually produces several flushes.
; G2G : Grain to grain. Using colonized grain to inoculate fresh sterile grain.
; Gypsum : Calcium sulfate. Added to substrates and grain for calcium and structure.
; Hyphae : The individual thread-like cells that make up mycelium.
; Inoculation : Introducing spores or mycelium into a sterile or pasteurized medium.
; Isolate : A culture selected and cleaned up to a single genetic line, usually on agar.
; LC : Liquid culture. Mycelium grown in sugar water. See [[Tutorials/LiquidCulture/Making and Using LC|making and using LC]].
; LME : Light malt extract. A common sugar in agar and LC.
; Monokaryon : Mycelium grown from a single spore, with one kind of nucleus. Cannot fruit on its own.
; Monotub : A storage tote modified into a fruiting chamber. See [[Tutorials/Fruiting/Monotub|monotub fruiting]].
; MS : Multispore. A syringe or print containing spores from many individuals.
; Mycelium : The vegetative body of a fungus; the white network of threads you grow before mushrooms appear.
; Pasteurization : Heating to roughly 150–170°F to kill most competitors while leaving some beneficial microbes. Used for bulk substrate.
; PC : Pressure cooker. See [[Reference/Pressure Cooking at Altitude|pressure cooking at altitude]].
; Pins : Baby mushrooms. Also called primordia.
; Rhizomorphic : Ropey, root-like mycelium. Often a sign of vigorous genetics.
; SAB : Still air box. A clear tote with arm holes for clean work. See [[Tutorials/Basics/Sterile Technique|sterile technique]].
; Sector : A visibly distinct region of growth on agar, usually a different genetic individual.
; Senescence : Gradual weakening of a culture over many generations of transfers or clones.
; Slant : A test tube of agar set at an angle, used for [[Tutorials/Agar/Storing Cultures|long-term culture storage]].
; Smash tek : Crossing two strains by mixing their spores on agar. See [[Tutorials/Genetics/Smash Tek|smash tek]].
; Spawn : A nutritious material, usually grain, fully colonized by mycelium and used to inoculate bulk.
; Spawn ratio : The ratio of spawn to bulk substrate, by volume. 1:2 means one part spawn to two parts substrate.
; Spore print : Spores collected by letting a mature cap drop them onto paper or foil.
; Sterilization : Killing everything, normally with a pressure cooker at 15 psi. Required for grain, agar, and LC.
; Substrate : Any material mycelium grows on and feeds from.
; T1, T2, T3 : Transfer generation on agar. See [[Tutorials/Agar/Three-Transfers|the three-transfer method]].
; Tek : A technique or method.
; Tomentose : Fluffy, cottony mycelium without distinct strands.
; Trich : ''Trichoderma'', a common green mold.
; Veil : A thin membrane covering the gills of young mushrooms. Tearing usually signals harvest time.
; Vermiculite : A puffed mineral that holds water and keeps substrate airy.
; WBS : Wild bird seed, used as grain spawn.

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