GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

GROWTH PARAMETERS 397
A. polytricha is mostly referred by the name "Kikurage". Most cultivators not trained in the skills of
taxonomy are likely to pass on the mistaken identifications of those before them. With the many "varieties"
of Wood Ears circulating, the need for interfertility studies and DNA comparisons is evident.
According to Wong & Wells (1987), the proper name for the cultivated A. polytricha should be
Auricularia cornea (Ehr. :Fr.) Ehr. ex EndI. Until I can further study these taxa and their arguments, I
am retaining the name A. polytricha for this mushroom. Another closely related species is
Auriculariafuscosuccinea (Montagne) Farlow, the most common Wood Ear in the southeastern
United States. This mushroom is rosy to reddish brown and minutely hairy on its outer surface (with
hairs measuring 80 x 5 ii). This species is distributed as far south as Argentina.
Description: A gelatinous cup fungus, ear-shaped, generally purplish grayish brown to dingy brown,
2-15 cm. broad, sessile. Covered by a medulla of fine hairs. Surface smooth, wrinkled towards the
center and upturned towards the outer edges. Firmly gelatinous in texture. Readily rehydrating true to
form.
Distribution: Varieties of Wood Ears grow throughout the temperate hardwood forests of the world.
Natural Habitat: On conifer or hardwood logs or stumps, especially oaks, willows, locust, mu!berry,
acacia and other broad-leaf trees. Commonly occurring in soils rich in wood debris during the
cool wet seasons throughout the temperate forests of the world. This mushroom generally favors cool
weather and grows from sea-level to tree-line.
Microscopic Features: Spores white in deposit, otherwise hyaline, cylindric to sausage shaped, 11-
14(17.5) x 4-6 Clamp connections present.
Available Strains: Strains are available from most culture libraries. Wild specimens abound and can
be easily brought into culture. Strains of A. auricula and A. polytricha are often mis-labelled due to
the difficulty in separating these taxa from one another.
Mycelial Characteristics: Longitudinally linear, thickening with age to form a dense cottony white
mycelial mat, becoming mottled with brown discolorations in age.
Fragrance Signature: Unpleasant, musty, reminiscent of a raw compost.
Natural Method of Cultivation:The most common technique used inAsia has been to cut logs 3 feet
or a meter in length, 5-12 inches in diameter, in the late fall to early spring. The logs are simply drilled
with holes and spawn is pack tightly into the cavities. I prefer to inoculate logs with sawdust spawn
that is packed into chain-saw cuts a foot apart. The logs are kept moist in a shaded, well ventilated
forest. To initiate mushroom formation, the logs are submerged in water for 24 hours.
Recommended Courses for Expansion of Mycelial Mass toAchieve Fruiting: From liquid inoculated
Grain Masters, a 2nd generation of grain spawn in gallon jars can be inoculated. Each gallon jar
of spawn can inoculate 105 lb. bags of sawdust supplemented with rice bran. Chopped corn and rye
flakes can also be used as supplements.
Suggested Agar Culture Media: MYA, MYPA, PDA, PDYA or DFA.
1st, 2nd & 3rd Generation Spawn Media: Millet, milo, rye, wheat or sorghum all support the for-
PDF compression, OCR, web-optimization with CVISION's PdfCompressor