diff --git a/mods/CORE/mcl_util/init.lua b/mods/CORE/mcl_util/init.lua
index bdb0303c3..a9d815f58 100644
--- a/mods/CORE/mcl_util/init.lua
+++ b/mods/CORE/mcl_util/init.lua
@@ -1134,21 +1134,21 @@ end
 
 -- Traces along a line of nodes vertically to find the next possition that isn't an allowed node
 ---@param pos The position to start tracing from
----@param dir The direction to trace in (1 is up, -1 is down)
----@param allowed_nodes A table of node names to trace along
+---@param dir The direction to trace in. 1 is up, -1 is down, all other values are not allowed.
+---@param allowed_nodes A set of node names to trace along.
 ---@param limit The maximum number of steps to make. Defaults to 16 if nil or missing
 ---@return Three return values:
 ---   the position of the next node that isn't allowed or nil if no such node was found,
 ---   the distance from the start where that node was found,
 ---   the node table if a node was found
 function mcl_util.trace_nodes(pos, dir, allowed_nodes, limit)
-	if not dir or dir == 0 or #allowed_nodes == 0 then return nil, 0, nil end
+	if ( dir ~= -1 ) and ( dir ~= 1 ) then return nil, 0, nil end
 	limit = limit or 16
 
 	for i = 1,limit do
 		pos = vector.offset(pos, 0, dir, 0)
 		local node = minetest.get_node(pos)
-		if table.indexof(allowed_nodes, node.name) == -1 then return pos, i, node end
+		if not allowed_nodes[node.name] then return pos, i, node end
 	end
 
 	return nil, limit, nil
diff --git a/mods/ITEMS/mcl_bamboo/globals.lua b/mods/ITEMS/mcl_bamboo/globals.lua
index 250f9b926..eea779b90 100644
--- a/mods/ITEMS/mcl_bamboo/globals.lua
+++ b/mods/ITEMS/mcl_bamboo/globals.lua
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@ mcl_bamboo.bamboo_index = {
 	"mcl_bamboo:bamboo_2",
 	"mcl_bamboo:bamboo_3",
 }
+mcl_bamboo.bamboo_set = {}
+for _,key in pairs(mcl_bamboo.bamboo_index) do
+	mcl_bamboo.bamboo_set[key] = true
+end
 
 function mcl_bamboo.is_bamboo(node_name)
 	local index = table.indexof(mcl_bamboo.bamboo_index, node_name)
@@ -108,7 +112,7 @@ function mcl_bamboo.grow_bamboo(pos, bonemeal_applied)
 
 	-- Determine the location of soil
 	local soil_pos
-	soil_pos,a,b = mcl_util.trace_nodes(pos, -1, mcl_bamboo.bamboo_index, BAMBOO_MAX_HEIGHT - 1)
+	soil_pos,a,b = mcl_util.trace_nodes(pos, -1, mcl_bamboo.bamboo_set, BAMBOO_MAX_HEIGHT - 1)
 
 	-- No soil found, return false so that bonemeal isn't used
 	if not soil_pos then return false end
@@ -127,7 +131,7 @@ function mcl_bamboo.grow_bamboo(pos, bonemeal_applied)
 	log("Grow bamboo; height: " .. height)
 
 	-- Locate the bamboo tip
-	local bamboo_tip,actual_height,bamboo_tip_node = mcl_util.trace_nodes(first_shoot, 1, mcl_bamboo.bamboo_index, height - 1)
+	local bamboo_tip,actual_height,bamboo_tip_node = mcl_util.trace_nodes(first_shoot, 1, mcl_bamboo.bamboo_set, height - 1)
 	log("Current height: "..tostring(actual_height))
 
 	-- Short circuit growth if the bamboo is already finished growing
diff --git a/mods/ITEMS/mcl_crimson/init.lua b/mods/ITEMS/mcl_crimson/init.lua
index bf1b0ca80..6920c4dc6 100644
--- a/mods/ITEMS/mcl_crimson/init.lua
+++ b/mods/ITEMS/mcl_crimson/init.lua
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ function grow_vines(pos, moreontop, vine, dir)
 	if dir == nil then dir = 1 end
 	if not moreontop or moreontop < 1 then return false end
 
-	local allowed_nodes = {vine}
+	local allowed_nodes = {}
+	allowed_nodes[vine] = true
 
 	-- Find the root, tip and calculate height
 	local root,_,root_node = mcl_util.trace_nodes(pos, -dir, allowed_nodes, MAXIMUM_VINE_HEIGHT)