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exemplified by Laetiporus suiphureus
(Polyporus suiphureus), a.k.a. Chicken of the
Woods. The mycelium breaks apart with the
least disturbance. In front of a laminar flow
bench, the sterile wind can cause chains of
mycelium (hyphae) to become airborne. Freeflying
hyphae can cause considerable
cross-contamination problems within the laboratory.
7. Unique Formations: Upon the surface of
the mycelial mat, unique formations occur
which can be distinguished from the background
mycelium. They are various in forms.
Common forms are hyphal aggregates, cottony
ball-like or shelf-like structures. I view hyphal
aggregates as favorable formations when selecting
out rapidly fruiting strains of Shiitake.
Hyphal aggregates often evolve into primordia,
the youngest visible stages of mushroom formation.
Marasmius oreades, the Fairy Ring
THE STOCK CULTURE LIBRARY 111
Figure 91. Hyphal aggregates ot'the Fairy Ring mushroom (Marasmius oreades) and Shiitake (Lentinula edodes).
Mushroom, produces shelf-like forms that define
the character of its mycelium. Stropharia
rugoso-annulata, the King Stropharia, has
uniquely flattened, plate-like zones of dense
and light growth, upon which hyphal aggregates
often form. Morel mycelium produces
dense, spherical formations called scierotia.
These scierotia can be brightly colored, and
abundant, as is typical of many strains of
Morchella angusticeps, or dull colored, and
spars, like those of Morchella esculenta and
Morchella crassipes.
The mycelia of some mushrooms generate
asexual structures called coremia (broom-like
bundles of spores) which resemble many of the
black mold contaminants. Some of these peculiar
formations typify Pleurotus cystidiosus,
Pleurotus abalonus, and Pleurotus smithii. I
know of one Ph.D. mycologist who, not knowing
that some Oyster mushrooms go through an
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