224 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



Where do Mushrooms Bear their Spores?— Cut 



off the stem of a common Mushroom. Lay the cap carefully 

 on a sheet of paper, gills downwards. After several hours 

 there will be a pretty spore print on the paper. The fine 

 powder is the spores. When the spores lodge in a place with 

 suflficient moisture, they send out delicate white threads, which 

 grow mostly underground, but you can see them on the 

 surface under trees during the rainy season. They look like 

 masses of wet cotton- wool. This is what Mushroom gardeners 



Fig. 197. — Photograph of a Mushroom {Amanita), showing the ring {annulus) 

 and cup [volva). 



call spawn. It takes up moisture and food from the soil, 

 and as it may grow underground for months, it is no wonder 

 that when Mushrooms come they seem to "spring up in a 

 night "- They start as buttons on the spawn, and may get 

 quite large before we notice them. 



One common Mushroom, Psalliota campestris, which is 

 often cultivated for the table, has pink gills (the spores are at 

 first pink) which after a time turn brown. It has a white or 

 brownish cap and a ring around the stem. 



The Mushroom in Fig. 197 has a ring which shows on the 

 upper portion of the stalks. This ring is the remainder of a 



