Mycelium
The name given to the vegetative part of fungi as contrasted with the reproductive organs. Fungi, except the lowest forms, are made up chiefly of long, slender threads, composed of rows of cells placed end to end; these threads usually branch, and are interwoven, so as to form a tissue that seems frequently composed of cells united in the way observed among other plants, though really only a false parenchyma. A good many kinds of fungi, supposed to be distinct, are really barren Mycelium only. Hence, with wider information, several of the genera have had to be included as mere forms of other groups. Mycelium is usually easily detected in the cells of parts attacked by a fungus. Occasionally, the presence of Mycelia alters the colour of the wood, e.g., Peziza aeruginosa so colours the wood that it becomes coppery-green. See also Mushrooms.