





The below visual guide is designed for novice and inexperienced mushroom cultivators. For some, it's easier and more comforting to know they are(or aren't) on the right path by visually making a comparison with an experienced growers cultures. That's what this guide is for, visual comparison. Please feel free to thank and rate any of the contributors .







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<-Click What It Shouldn't Look Like Genetic Mutations Section General Cultivation Information & FAQ Edible, Medicinal, and Novelty Fungi Supplies and Materials T i p s a n d T r i c k s





1) Mycelium

2) Hyphal Knots & Primordia

3) Pins

4) When to Harvest

5) Mature Mushrooms

6) Spore Prints

7) Mycelium on Agar

8) Panaeolus cyanescens Section

9) How it Shouldn't Look

10) Poor Fruiting Conditions



Cubensis mycelium just starting to colonize grain spawn jars - Tmethyl



Typical colonization patterns of a multispore inoculation in a BRF mixture - Tmethyl



Cubensis mycelium, the definition of rhizomorphic colonization, 1/2 pint BRF cake (Brown Rice Flower) - Revolutionctm



Cubensis mycelium CLOSE-UP (macro), colonizing multiple substrates - Tmethyl



Mycelium breaking the surface of the substrate, in a monotub - Tmethyl



Super macro shots of Mycelium on grain spawn - Timehole



Newly germinated mycelium on a BRF(PF tek) jar, and newly germinated mycelium on rye spawn jar (This is what it should look like 5-10 days after spore inoculation, but in rare cases can take up to 2-3 weeks to see growth) - Rohr



Rhizomorphic growth on WBS (Wild Bird Seed) - FrankHorrigan



Two jars on the left were at 30% colonization when the three jars on the right are at 70%. Matching growth by shaking the two and leaving the others to finish. You don't want to wait more than 2 days to use a fully colonized rye jar - Exiledmonkies



Cubensis mycelium in WBS/rye quarts, this is when I like to shake my jars and distribute the mycelium - Tmethyl



Penis Envy strain monoculture in WBS(Wild Bird seed) - FrankHorrigan



MS(multispore) inoculation, mycelium germinating at inoculation points. Do not shake grain jars if you inoculated with MS, only shake once they reach 30% colonization, then allow the finish - Tmethyl



Corn starch liquid culture syringe - Exiledmonkies



Multiple liquid cultures of Cubensis mycelium - Hoobatech



Cubensis liquid culture - Alembic













Knots, small pins - Bodhisatta



Knots, primordia, small pins - Tmethyl



Primordia and knots - Tmethyl



Primordia/knots - NatureBoy



Primordia and knots - Creekfreek



Hyphal knots, macro close-up - Tmethyl



Primordia and knots - Dodgem



Cubensis hyphal knots on rhizomorphic mycelium - Tmethyl



Cubensis "roping" mycelium, also primordia and knots on right side, 1pint BRF(Brown Rice Flour) jar - Tmethyl



Pins, Primorida, and Hyphal knots in monotub - Elkart



Primordia growing on a pin, and various hyphal knots - Tmethyl



Cubensis hyphal knots, primordia, and pin, extreme close up! - Tmethyl



Hyphal knotting close-up, inside a monotub (one day before fruiting) - Tmethyl



Hyphal knots, primordia/pins - k00laid



An expensive shot of Hyphal knots and Primordia (and some pins) growing on a "cash casing" - RogerRabbit













Pins growing in a wine glass - Tmethtyl



A gorgeous set of pins - PrimalSoup



An interestingly shaped pin set - TranscendingLife



Some very clean pins - TheApprentice



Pins on BRF cakes - Tsmtbs07



The kangaroo approves of this monotub pin set - Tmethyl



Invitro pinning 1pint BRF(Brown Rice Flour) jars *Jar inverted for picture, do not invert your jars* - Tmethyl



Cubensis pinning on bulk cake - Tmethyl



Psilocybe Cubensis pin set in monotub - FrankHorrigan



Invitro pins, and impressive mycelial network on glass - Elkart



1 pint Brf/Rye hybrid cakes pinning in GH setup (Green house) - Tmethyl



Cubensis pins in monotub, all aiming towards light source (window) - Tmethyl



Cubensis pins growing from a 1" WBS (Wild Bird Seed) substrate - Citric



Pristine Penis Envy var. pins on a bulk cake - k00laid



A glorious shot of hundreds of invitro pins - RogerRabbit













Psilocybe Cubensis fruits, 1 day before harvest - Tmethyl



A good time to harvest (opinionated) - Tmethyl



No better time to harvest, than now - Applesmasher420



Harvest time - TheApprentice



An epic shot of a perfect time to harvest, admire these beauties for a moment! - PrimalSoup



Time to harvest these - Tmethyl



This is when to harvest! - Elkart



A great time to harvest - Tmethyl



A little late for some on the outer regions, but a great time to harvest this entire tub, especially the center - Citric



A beautifully timed harvest - Tmethyl



A perfect time to harvest this 110g mutant nicknamed "The Pumpkin" - Tmethyl



Good time to harvest these KSSS mushrooms, this particular strain tends to develop very short very wide fruits in the first flush - Beethoven



Cubensis roughly 1 day before a perfect harvest time - Amanita Virosa



Harvesting these now, is good for me - NatureBoy











Mature psilocybe Cubensis on BRF(Brown rice flour) cakes, from under - Tmethyl



Mature Psilocybe Cubensis through the peephole(Fresh air exchange hole in monotubs) - Tmethyl



Fully mature Psilocybe cubensis fruits - Applesmasher420



Mature Psilocybe Cubensis fruit - FrankHorrigan



Cubensis proper blue bruising, darkness/shade can vary - Tmethyl



Mature Cubensis, split from over-humidity - Tmethyl



Some cubensis fruits that were grown inside a cup - Citric



What happens when you allow your cubes to become too mature? Sporesplosion. These are going to taste like shit - Elkart



Mature Penis Envy strain Psilocybe Cubensis - RogerRabbit



Mature cubensis fruits, in a plastic tarp fruiting chamber set up. Growing on a straw log - RogerRabbit











Psilocybe cubensis print on foil - Applesmasher420



Cubensis prints on foil - RogerRabbit



Cubensis spore prints on foil - Tmethyl



A simple printing method which involves filling some small containers with a small amount sterile distilled water, then flipping the lids over and placing a mushroom cap on it to drop spores, then flip the lid back over onto the container and shake it. Instant dark spore solution with very little contamination possibility. Use about 1cc/ml or less per 10-12cc/ml syringe (1cc spore solution 9-11cc water) - Tmethyl







Healthy mycelium on agar Van Hatton



A pin cloned on agar - TrancendingLife



Cubensis mycelium on agar with a mysterious ring formation.. - Creekfreek



Heavily rhizomorphic mycelium on agar - FrankHorrigan



Rye agar, half pint "spacial" jars - Tmethyl



Cubensis mycelium on agar, random colonies - Exiledmonkies



Dikaryotic hyphae, with water droplets on them. These droplets were thought to be yeast contamination buds - Amanita Virosa



Clean cubensis mycelium on agar - Dmonkey1



Clean isolate(monoculture) - Bodhisatta



Clean mycelium transfers - Bodhisatta



Spore germination on agar, and Psilocybe cubensis spore micrograph - Bodhisatta











Paneaolus cyanescens partially and fully colonized 1quart rye apawns - Tmethyl



Panaeolus Cyanescens mycelium partially/fully colonizing a tray - Tmethyl



Paneaolus mycelium Mono cultures on agar - FrankHorrigan



Paneaolus Cyanescens monoculture in WBS(Wild Bird Seed) - FrankHorrigan



Paneaolus Cyanescens pins - Tmethyl



Mature and almost mature Pan Cyan(Paneaolus Cyanescens) fruits, gills, and random Pan Cyan photography - Tmethyl



Quote:

Blue Helix said:

One of the hardest things to make in pan cyans is the casing. If you do not allow the substrate to colonize long enough, then the casing will be overtaken by overlay. Overlay can partially or totally close the casing off to pin formation because pins only form at the interface between the casing and substrate. An overlaid casing will yield at least 50% lower than a well-colonized one. If it's heavily overlaid, you'll lose everything but a few tiny mushrooms.So what should you look for?



First an overlaid casing - note this is a result of not allowing the bags to colonize hard enough and/or not alowing the trays to sit long enough after they are laid before applying the casing:







Sometimes you'll get pins where the overlay isn't as bad, but you can forget a canopy of fruits for this pan cyans (cubes really don't care much) if you have overlay. Let's look at some that have partial overlay with pins (failures):







A properly colonized bit of non-nutritive casing (if you put nutrients in it like coco coir forget it), looks like (and performs like) this:









So what's the difference? There is a persistent myth this is purely a matter of genetics. In my opinion and experience it's not just genetics, although they do, admittedly, cause a propensity to overlay. In 2018 I proved to myself that even genes prone to overlay could produce high yields and dense pin sets if precautions were taken.



So what what precautions? If you colonize in a spawn bag, break up the substrate at 50% to 70%. Allow the mycelium to well recolonize the bag.



If you colonize in a spawn bag, do not open it to lay the trays the day it appears fully colonized. Give it between two and four more days.



Once you lay the trays, put some toothpick-poked saran wrap over it an allow it to colonize at fruiting temperatures for 1 to 4 days. You want it as colonized as it possibly can be without stalling it out. During this phase, before you put the casing on, you want it to look like thick clouds of mycelium over the substrate. The thicker the better. Do NOT store the tray in low temperatures during this time.



After colonization, make sure you apply a non-nutritive casing. Coco coir is NOT idea (a fact I proved in 2004 through a detailed side-by-side grow). If you suspect something might have nutrients in it but can we rinsed out, rinse it out!



Provide an even casing (the more even the better; user a roller if you want) and allow it to colonize being very wet. Keep it well hydrated. Some folks even hand-mist it just up to the point little puddles form every day or other day. I usually don't do this, but I do keep it very wet.

Just think of it this way: you are trying to get the mycelium to know it's finished with vegetative substrate growth by well colonizing the substrate. That will trigger the casing colonization and pinning.

Hope this helps!!!









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This was a sorghum grain jar contaminated with mold, probably Dactylium(cobweb) note to clear difference in healthy white mycelium with mold mycelium. - Mycotylium



This image has a graphic description, please read the photo Bodhisatta



This is blue bruising, it's very common and not a contamination. It is an indicator that the cake has been physically contacted (touched, picked up) or is getting to dry, increase misting and check your humidity if you see blue bruising in areas that you know you did not contact - Tsmtbs07



Cobweb mold(Dactylium) on a coir/verm substrate - Hoobatech



Cobweb mold colonizing inside 1/2 pint jar - Tmethyl



A disturbing mixture of metabolites, and bacteria, I hope your jars never look like this! - Tmethyl



Trichoderma on coir/verm, pre-sporeulated trich(not yet turned green[upper portion of pic]) - MashedGlasses



Bacterial contamination in a BRF cake jar - Trip352



Cubensis mycelium, meeting with the mycelium of a contaminant mushroom mycelium, this is a tricky one. Cubensis is more silky, and always flows, notice how the contaminant mushroom mycelium does not flow, and looks similar to cobweb mold - Tmethyl



Fungal gnat, or close species. This is what happens when gnats lay eggs in your grain jars, you can see the enzymes secreted by the maggots are not only killing the mycelium, but liquifying the grains, the maggots may of also brought in some bacteria. This jar is garbage - Tmethyl



Heavy Lipstick Mold contamination (Geotrichum candidium) in red areas. Pink mold(Neurospora) in purple areas - KafkasDog



Trichoderma (mature) on monotub surface - Tmethyl



Trichoderma on coir (not green yet) - Paleopoint



Cobweb mold on monotub surface/side - Tmethyl



Baccilus bacteria contamination on BRF cake, agar, and grain spawn - Exiledmonkies



Yeast Contamination on LME(Light Malt Extract) agar - Tmethyl



An Aspergillus niger contamination, TOSS IT ASAP! - Tmethyl



Trichoderma (immature) contamination coir/coffee/verm substrate, the trichoderma is not green yet, it hasn't sporulated - FrankHorrigan



Early trichoderma on coir substrate, monotub (immature, but green is visible if you look close) - Don Quixote



Trichoderma on grain spawn, trich mycelium is visible - TrancendingLife



Are there even words to describe this? It's Apergillus, trichoderma, nuerospora, penicillium, and ganoderma mycelium.. on wood - Tmethyl



Heavy bacterial contamination in WBS spawn - TrancendingLife



Trichoderma/Aspergillus in spawn jar, panaeolus cyanescens - TheCyndicate



Aspergillus contamination in spawn jar (similar to trich but not the same) the very last picture is oyster mycelium eating the contamination, oyster mycelium is very tough. - Tmethyl



Extremely contaminated monotub(s), most of it is Trichoderma, but there is some cobweb, and I'm SURE some other nasty shit in there - Jenkinz



Trichoderma contaminated monotub, it's fruiting as a last resort to get out some spores before the trich annihilates it - Numnum59



Cubensis fruits showing the classic signs of verticillium bacterial contamination (deformed fruit, brown speckles on stipe), the last 3 pictures display some other effects verticillium may have on your fruits(grey caps, peeling, cracking, etc) - Rohr (First2pics) - SuchSmartMonkeys (Last3Pics)

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A beautiful example of Penicillium contamination on agar - Amanita Virosa



Aspergillus contaminated spawn jar on left, clean jar on right - Amanita Virosa



Trichoderma before it turned green (sporulated) on coir/verm substrate - Timehole



Not sure exactly where to start on these 2 jars, but your jars should never look like this! - Jcoonan



Trichoderma and other contaminations in these disgusting spawn jars - RogerRabbit



Multiple bacterial contaminations on agar - Dmonkey1



Trichoderma in grain spawn jars, and massive bacterial contamination in last 2 jars - TrancendingLife



More pink mold in these BRF jars probably Nuerospora - Jacobwtyler



Mold, and nasty bacteria - Creekfreek



Bacterial presence in this jar - Changealot



Pseudomas bacterial contamination, note the brown spotted areas, rotted areas, etc. Included microscopy of bacteria. - Bodhisatta



Cobweb mold in jars and on agar dishes. - Bodhisatta



Sour smelling white mold covering bulk substrate, look carefully. - Bodhisatta



Bacteria on agar(first 2 photos) Aspergillius mold in jars(3rd photo) Mold on agar(last photo) - Bodhisatta















This is the most common problem with using a PMP(poor mans pod) fruiting chamber, nowhere near enough FAE. These cakes are getting fresh air, but not enough to get rid of the c02 building up, so the cakes have developed heavy aerial mycelium, and the mushrooms are skinny and wimpy from trying to escape the bad environment, we recommend using an SGFC fruiting chamber nowadays, the days of the PMP are gone, for this exact reason - Creekfreek



This is what happens when a culture receives NO LIGHT - Doc_D



NO FAE, this is what happens to a cake which is being suffocated - Bree (and K1ngsp4de)



Very low FAE, causing some very skinny oddly shaped mushrooms - TrancendingLife



Poor FAE. Bad tub design. PastyWhite



The blue/grey tint on this monotub is from drying out, it will NEVER pin in these conditions - The1sttofall



Some suffering albino's, they are insufficient in FAE among other things, don't let your mushrooms look like this - Cronicr



The pic says it all, very poor FAE, very poor lighting, and other issues - Dodgem



This is what happens to a cake which is given nearly no FAE, and possible bad lighting. It's not happy, note the fuzzy bases of the mushrooms, this indicated low FAE, also notice the dark discolorations on the caps(not the dark purple, that's spores), this is waterlogging, it is being over misted - Kinetic



This is an insufficient environment, because pins only developed where the trash bag liner was laying on the sub. This means the rest of the substrate was not humid enough. This picture is also 100% proof of the wax paper casing concept working - DeadPhan



Here are some tiny pins caused by a dryer than normal substrate, dry subs can cayse tiny mushrooms, and even large-scale aborts - NatureBoy



This is aerial mycelium, it's an indicator of low FAE high c02 in the fruiting chamber - Eyeless_Cat



Aerial mycelium on BRF cake - Trip352



Cracking caps, low humidity, dry air, not enough misting, etc - SuchSmartMonkeys



Heavily over misted, notice the dark caps, with a caramel glaze look, they are near abortion due top over misting. There is also pooling water on the substrate surface, it is turning yellow because of the presence of bacteria. The mycelium is battling the bacteria by secreting metabolites/enzymes(yellow) - DeadPhan



Serious lack of FAE(Fresh Air Exchange) on BRF cake. Note the small caps, and long skinny stipe(stems) trying to escape high c02 levels - Pastywhyte



Cubensis fruits all damaged by over saturation, it looks similar to dry air damage. These fruits are waterlogged and were soaked for 1.5day straight - Tmethyl



Heavily over misted(leading to aborted fruits, and possible bacterial contamination) and insufficient lighting(tall skinny small caped fruits) - Mattsls101



Pic 1 is heavily over-misted, and it also had insufficient lighting. Note the aborts, pic 2 is the bottom of a monotub displaying a ton of aborted bottom pins, there is also a high likelihood of these pins being contaminated with bacteria - Twistedty



These mushrooms are growing in a very hostile environment, and appear to be contaminated by a gay rabbit - RogerRabbit



I don't even know what to say about this tray, I don't know wtf he did to it... just avoid this - Trip352



These Paneaolus cyanescens pins are aborting due to over misting, do not mist Pan pins, ever - Tmethyl







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Genetic Mutations



It's clearly laughing at you, "git gud scrub!" - Tmethyl



This thing pregnant? I sure hope so - Tmethyl



Some upside-downers - Tmethyl



The "alien egg" - Tmethyl



PE blob/mutants - TheNilsMeister



Wtf happened here? Oh god why? - SmokeyMcPot



Amazing genetics on this cap - DrFunkNshine



You going to let this mutant mock you like that? - Dodgem



Tits! It has tits!! - Creekfreek



Mutated and discolored gills, mutation - Applesmasher420



The 'praying monk' mutant - Applesmasher420



Corkscrew mutant! - Applesmasher420



This mutant.. is a fuckin' wreck - Mush_room



A beautiful and intricate mutant(This is a picture of the gills) - Timehole



This is called 'pumpkin' genetics - Tmethyl



Beautiful double decker mutant - Trip352



A wtf mutant.. wtf? - Trip352



Neat mutants - Doc_d



Nice rosecombing mutants - FortinbraGhost



Mutants, and an especially LOVELY double decker mutant, growing upside down - Notahacker420



Some seriously impressive genetic diversity in this grow - JarryDee



Some basic first flush Penis Envy cubensis mutants - Hoobatech



Another double decker mutation - Timehole



Tentacle-like mutations on these cubensis fruits - RogerRabbit



Mutant Chantrelle (Cantharellus cibarius) growing right side up - RogerRabbit



Some interesting mutations - Exiledmonkies



Elephant mutants - Exiledmonkies



The 'shy' mutant - Exiledmonkies



Chubby mutations - Exiledmonkies



Mutants, some 'rosecombing' of the gills - MoGrow



A cool mutant, with a blob on top - Hoobatech



Mutant with it's close friend - Mykes Logos

It's clearly laughing at you, "git gud scrub!" -This thing pregnant? I sure hope so -Some upside-downers -The "alien egg"PE blob/mutants -Wtf happened here? Oh god why? -Amazing genetics on this cap -You going to let this mutant mock you like that? -Tits! It has tits!! -Mutated and discolored gills, mutation -The 'praying monk' mutant -Corkscrew mutant! -This mutant.. is a fuckin' wreckA beautiful and intricate mutant(This is a picture of the gills) -This is called 'pumpkin' genetics -Beautiful double decker mutant -A wtf mutant.. wtf? -Neat mutants -Nice rosecombing mutants -Mutants, and an especially LOVELY double decker mutant, growing upside down -Some seriously impressive genetic diversity in this grow -Some basic first flush Penis Envy cubensis mutants -Another double decker mutation -Tentacle-like mutations on these cubensis fruits -Mutant Chantrelle (Cantharellus cibarius) growing right side up -Some interesting mutations -Elephant mutants -The 'shy' mutant -Chubby mutations -Mutants, some 'rosecombing' of the gills -A cool mutant, with a blob on top -Mutant with it's close friend -









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Edible, medicinal, & novelty mushroom mycelium



Glow in the dark mushroom mycelium (Omphalotus nidiformis) - Tmethyl



Edible Enoki mycelium (Flammulina velutipes) looks very cobweb-like, that's normal for this species - Tmethyl



Blue oyster mycelium in grain spawn jar - Tmethyl



Great shots of Lions Mane(Hericium erinaceus) mycelium on agar - Amanita Virosa



Reishi(Ganoderma Luccidum) mycelium on agar - Amanita Virosa



Cordyceps mycelium on LME(Light malt Extract) agar - RogerRabbit









Edible, medicinal, & novelty mushrooms



Omphalotus Nidiformis (Ghost mushroom) this is a species of bioluminescent(glowing) mushroom, cultivated indoors - Tmethyl



Young Blue Oysters(pleurotus columbinus), growing directly from jar mouths - Tmethyl



Enoki (Flamulina Velutipes) mature fruits [They appear this way when they have a good FAE, good FAE is not preferred for this species]- Transcendinglife



Enoki properly deprived of FAE to get the trademark tall stem small cap growth, which is highly recommended for this species - TrancendingLife



Lions mane(Hericium erinaceus) fruiting bodies - Amanita Virosa



Blue oyster(Pleurotus ostreatus var. columbinus) fruits - Amanita Virosa



King oyster(Pleurotus eryngii) primordia - Amanita Virosa



Shitake(Lentinula edodes) fruiting on blocks - Amanita Virosa



Maitake(Grifola frondosa) mature fruits first 2 pics, Maitake primordia last 2 pics - Jeff



Oyster grows(Pleurotus ostreatus), pinning on straw, mature indoor fruits, and an oyster basket - RogerRabbit



Reishi(Ganoderma Luccidum) fruits on multiple substrates, A truly beautiful medicinal fungus - RogerRabbit



Shitake(Lentinula edodes) grows done right - RogerRabbit







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How about a shot of "How it shouldnt Look"? Lipstick mold Contamination in Rye jars.







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Drunken G2G Hack....



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Post deleted by tabiyeh Reason for deletion: Life is lowly anonymity.



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Post deleted by tabiyeh Reason for deletion: Life is lowly anonymity.



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Quote:

tabiyeh said:

My only suggestion to make this even more useful for new members would be to limit, and even better avoid, using shroomery lingo such as MS, PC, LME, etc. those are pretty simple but I know on day one of being a member it's already a lot to take in, spelling out the full word makes it so much easier to understand.









I Agree, anything intro or pictorial for newcomers should be abbreviated and explained for ease of use



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