So let’s simplify it a bit and explain the parts of a mushroom life cycle that are more relevant to a mushroom grower.Īs an alternative to reading the information below, you could also watch our video on the life cycle of mushrooms here: The above explanation is a bit scientific and it covers many parts of a mushroom life cycle that you’re not actually able to see. The Mushroom Life Cycle: A Simple Explanation for Growers What are mushrooms exactly? Check out our article Are Mushrooms Vegetables? Learn How Mushrooms Are Classified. Once the mushroom fully matures, it releases its spores and the process starts all over again. Mature mycelium then waits until it’s exposed to specific conditions, like specific carbon dioxide or temperature levels, as well as light and humidity.Īt that point, they’ll begin to fruit and produce mushrooms. Mycelium will eventually grow and spread to consume all of the organic material in a particular substrate. But not all hyphae have necessarily formed a mycelium colony yet, depending on how far along in their life cycle they are. So we could say that all mycelium is made of hyphae. We refer to large, organized groups of hyphae as mycelium. Mycelium are essentially the mushroom roots. Once hyphae begins to form a larger colony, we refer to it as mycelium. They release digestive enzymes that break down food to fuel more growth. Hyphae look like long, thin strings that spread out through a growing medium. These are structures that a fungus uses to begin to gather nutrients and energy, as well as grow even further. The germ tube eventually begins to grow into something called hyphae. It begins the process of differentiating and growing via mitosis. Then they germinate and form something called a germ tube.Ī germ tube is the first multicellular outgrowth from a single-celled spore. Mushroom spores can detect once they’re somewhere with proper moisture and food present. Germ Phaseĭespite the name, this doesn’t have anything to do with bacteria or disease. Spores are carried via wind or water until they ultimately settle on a surface with favorable conditions to start growing. However, mushroom spores also represent the new life for the next generation of mushrooms. On one hand, a mushroom has fulfilled its purpose once it has fully matured and released its spores.Ī mature mushroom will almost immediately begin to decompose after this process is done. You can think of the spore phase as both the beginning and end of a mushroom’s life. Mushroom spores are tiny microscopic reproductive units that are produced by fungi (as well as some types of plants and algae). But this model provides a good overview in terms of how fungi grows from birth to death. In reality, there are many sub-steps of the process. There are four basic steps in the life cycle of a fungi: How are mushrooms different from toadstools? Be sure to read What Is A Toadstool? Toadstools vs. That’s because they appear prominently above-ground, growing on decomposing matter like soil, or on the side of a tree.īut there’s really a lot that goes on behind the scenes with fungi before they ever produce a mushroom. When we think of fungi, mushrooms are usually the first thing that comes to mind. Except for mushrooms, the seeds they produce are millions of tiny spores. They’re like the apples to an apple tree. You can think of them as the equivalent of fruits or vegetables on a plant. A mushroom is the fruiting body that some types of fungi produce.

Hyphal knots primordia