How to identify edible mushroom mother cultures by appearance?

Excellent purified mushroom cultures are the fundamental guarantee for successful edible mushroom cultivation. The appearance identification methods for several edible mushroom mother cultures are introduced as follows:

Shiitake mushroom mycelium On potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium, the mycelium is pure white, thick and robust, appearing floccose or velvety; after filling the test tube it has a certain ability to climb the wall, with edges showing irregular wavy curves. At around 24°C, the mycelium generally fills the test tube slant in 12-15 days. It has a distinctive shiitake aroma.

Oyster mushroom mycelium On PDA medium, the mycelium is snowy white, dense and thick, with strong wall-climbing ability, and can fill the entire test tube space. At 25°C, the mycelium generally fills the test tube slant in 6 days. It has a distinctive oyster mushroom aroma.

Enoki mushroom mycelium On PDA medium, the mycelium is grayish-white, appearing velvety or flat-lying, with slight wall-climbing behavior. After the mycelium ages, dirty brown spots often appear on the surface, and powdery spores and small fruiting bodies are often produced on the slant. At 23°C, the mycelium generally fills the test tube slant in 10-12 days. The mushroom aroma is not obvious.

Wood ear and hairy wood ear mycelium On PDA medium, the mycelium is initially slender and transparent, then gradually becomes white, thick secondary mycelium, appearing cottony, densely clustered, with relatively even and short mycelial tips; in the later stage it easily produces conidia, covering the surface with a layer of powdery substance. The mycelium does not climb the wall; after being left standing and exposed to strong light, gelatinous plaques resembling ear pieces appear on the slant. At 28-30°C, the mycelium secretes pigments of varying shades, with hairy wood ear mostly dark brown and wood ear mostly amber (the color depth is also related to the length of cultivation time). The aroma is not obvious.

Aerobic-type button mushroom mycelium On PDA medium, spore germination produces ganoderma-like mycelial plaques in 7-9 days; the mycelium is robust and fine, with thick, straight and clearly defined tips, uniform and neat, spreading in a fan shape; the aerial mycelium is downy and easily forms a mycelial skin in the test tube.

Mixed mycelium of Tremella fuciformis and feather-like companion fungus After Tremella fuciformis and the feather-like companion fungus are mixed and cultured in a certain ratio, the resulting mycelium is short and dense, with neat tips. In the initial stage, the mycelium appears as downy tufts and grows slowly; as the cultivation time extends, a halo ring closely adhering to the medium forms around the downy tufts.