To determine if a microbial sample is mold, and what type of mold it is, it must be examined under a microscope with a magnification between 400X and 1000X.
Mold grown in the laboratory or on cultures is often very crisp, beautiful, and perhaps more easy to identify. But the actual physical structures of mold growth for a given genera and species may vary significantly depending on the material on which the mold is growing – its food.
Photographs of mold spores under the microscope shown here are in that sense, more “natural” than those obtained from culture.