MUSHROOMS 



probably find the spores on the paper in the form of 

 the gills, as }'ou see in the picture on page 67. 



There are some mushrooms that have in addition to 

 the cap, gills, stem, and ring, a part somewhat like a 

 cup. This is at the lower end of the stem. Yrom it 

 the stem appears to spring. This is the volva. It is 

 sometimes called the ^ ^poison cup" because it is found 

 on some of the most poisonous mushrooms. 



HOW MUSHROOMS GROW 



You have already learned that all forms of fungi are 

 spore-bearing plants. But how do these queer-looking 



plants grow from spores? 

 A spore has but one cell. 

 This cell can absorl^ food 

 through its walls. When 

 the spore falls in a warm, 

 moist place, it begins to 

 take in food and grow. 

 Then it divides into two 

 cells. Each new cell di- 

 vides again, until long 

 chains of cells are formed. 

 These look like threads. 

 Soon they form below 

 the surface of the earth a tangled mass called the 

 my-ce'li-um, or spawn. The nwcelium feeds on the 



68 



How ^Mushrooms Bv^m to Grow. 1, A 

 Single Spore or Cell; 2, A Spore, or 

 Cell, Grown Larger ; 3, A Spore Di- 

 vided into Two Cells; 4, A Chain of 

 Cells; 5, A Tangled Mass of Cells 

 (called Spawn). 



