Guide to the Mushrooms 15 



PARTS OF A MUSHROOM. 



There are as many varieties of mush- 

 rooms as there are of flowers, each one pos- 

 sessing certain characteristics by which 

 they are grouped into genera and species. 

 To enable one to identify these, certain 

 terms are employed with which it is neces- 

 sary to become familiar in order to recog- 

 nize individual mushrooms. 



The Pileus oe Cap. — This is the part of 

 the mushroom which first attracts atten- 

 tion. It is quite thick, composed of inter- 

 woven threads called liyphae which form 

 the fesh or trama of the pileus. The outer 

 threads are thick and contain coloring mat- 

 ter which gives to the pileus its character- 

 istic color; this is called the cortex or cuti- 

 cle. Outside of this cuticle, there is often 

 another layer, of glutinous or viscid na- 

 ture, called the pellicle. In some instances 

 this layer ceases to grow as the pileus ex- 

 pands and is torn or split as the rest of the 

 pileus enlarges, remaining on the surface 



