The Shroomery Mushroom Glossary
This glossary is to serve as a reference for both beginners and the advanced. Please e-mail us if you have any definitions that you feel should be added here.
You are also invited to pay a visit to The Shroomery Mycology Glossary.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z all| P | |
| Parasitic | Fungi that grow by taking nourishment from other living organisms |
| Pasteurization | Heat treatment applied to a Substrate to destroy unwanted organisms but keeping favourable ones alive. The temperature range is 60°C to 80°C(140°F-175°F). The treatment is very different from Sterilization, which aims at destroying all organisms in the Substrate . |
| PDA | Potato Dextrose Agar |
| PDYA | Potato Dextrose Yeast Agar |
| Peat | Unconsolidated soil material consisting largely of undecomposed, or only slightly decomposed, organic matter accumulated under conditions of excessive moisture. Used as Casing ingredient in mushroom culture. |
| Perlite | Perlite is a very light mineral, often found next to the Vermiculite in gardening stores. It has millions of microscopic pores, which when it gets damp, allow it to 'breathe' lots of water into the air, making it humid. Mushrooms like humidity when they're Fruiting. |
| Peroxidated Agar | Agar made with H2O2 for the purpose of retarding Contamination with mold Spores and Bacteria. Not suitable for use with Spores, only Mycelium. |
| Petri dish | A round glass or plastic dish with a cover to observe the growth of microscopic organisms. The dishes are partly filled with sterile growth medium (or sterilized after they have been filled). Petri dishes are much used to grow the mycellum which will inoculate the mother Spawn. |
| PF | Psylocybe Fanaticus. The original spore provider and originator of the PF-Tek, one of the original home growing techniques on which many others are based. |
| pH | A measure to describe the acidity of a medium. pH 7 is neutral; higher means Alkaline, lower Acidic |
| Pileus | The Cap of a mushroom or toadstool |
| Pinhead | A term to describe a very young mushroom when the Cap has the size of a pin |
| Polyfil | A polyester fiber that resembles synthetic cotton. Found at fabric stores, WalMart, arts & craft stores. Also used as a filter medium for aquariums.(filter floss)
Used as a jar lid filter in preparation of grain Spawn. |
| Pressure cooker | A pot with a tight lid in which things can be cooked quickly with steam under higher pressure. The reason for it is that at 15 PSI (pound per square inch) pressure the water boils at a higher temperature (250°F, 121°C) than at ambient pressure.(212°F, 100°C). In mushroom cultivation used to sterilize substrates and Agar media. |
| Primordium | The initial Fruiting body, the stage before Pinhead |
| Psilocybin, Psilocin | Hallucinogenic organic compounds found in some mushrooms |
| Pure culture | An isolated Culture of a micro organism; organism without any other micro organisms. Pure cultures are essential to the Spawn production process. |
