GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

108 THE STOCK CULTURE LIBRARY
Figure 86. Classic forms 0 mushroom mycelia.
Iconic Types of
Mushroom Mycelium
Each mushroom species produces a recognizable
type of mycelium whose variations fall
within a range of expressions.Within a species,
multitudes of strains can differ dramatically in
their appearance. In culture, mushroom strains
reveal much about the portion of the mushroom
life cycle which is invisible to the mere forager
for wild mushrooms. This range of characteristics—changes
in form and color, rate of
growth, flagrance, even volunteer fruitings of
mushrooms in miniature—reveals a wealth of
information to the cultivator, defining the
strain's "personality".
Form: Mycelia can be categorized into several
different, classic forms. For ease of
explanation, these forms are delineated on the
basis of their macroscopic appearance on the two
dimensional plane of a nutrient-filled petri dish.
As the mycelium undergoes changes in its
appearance overtime, this progression of transformations
defines what is normal and what is
abnormal.The standard medialuse is MaltYeast
Agar (MYA) often fortified with peptone
(MYPA).
1. Linear: Linear mycelium is arranged as diverging,
longitudinal strands. Typically, the
mycelium emanates from the center of the petri
dish as a homogeneously forming mat. Shiitake
(Lentinula edodes) and initially Oyster
(Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelia fall in this category.
Morels produce a rapidly growing, finely
linear mycelium, which thickens in time. In
fact, Morel mycelium is so fine that during the
first few days of growth, the mycelium is nearly
invisible, detected only by tilting the petri dish
back and forth so that the fine strands can be
seen on the reflective sheen of the agar
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