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 making agar plates.

Anastomosis

The fusing of hyphae from two cultures. How dikaryons form, and the basis of 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 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 contamination ID.

Coprophilic

Dung-loving. Describes species that grow on manure in nature. See manure-based substrates.

Cracker dry

Dry enough that a stem snaps cleanly. The target for drying.

CVG

Coir, vermiculite, gypsum. The most common bulk substrate. See 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 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 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 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 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 long-term culture storage.

Smash tek

Crossing two strains by mixing their spores on agar. See 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 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.