From Spore to Mushroom 



Puffball 



Gills 



Stem 



it grows, and comes out of the ground a round puffball. (See 

 Plate opposite p. 124.) 



If one wishes to learn to distinguish the members of the 

 mushroom or toadstool family, either 

 for the pleasure he may derive from 

 knowing them, or from a desire to 

 distinguish the edible from the poison- 

 ous, he must 

 be f a m i 1 i a r 

 with the typi- 

 cal parts of the 

 fungus plant, 

 and m ust 

 know the names of these parts. 



The edible mushroom of the market 

 (Agaricus campestris) 

 serves well for study, 



Veil l-f^*XBffil as it shows some of 



the characteristics 

 which all the toad- 

 stools, mushrooms, brackets, and puffballs 

 have in common. 



(i) This mushroom is in shape some- 

 thing like a parasol. 



(2) The handle is the stem, or stipe. 



(3) The open top is the cap, or pileus. 



(4) Under 

 the cap, radi- 

 ating from 



the stalk to Ri ng .. 



Spores on , , 



slender processes trie CUgC OI 



the cap, are 



thin P^tes-the gills, or lamellae. 



(5) When the mushroom is in 

 .short ceiis the button stage, the gills are not 



visible, for they are covered with 

 a thin sheet of mycelial threads, 

 called the veil. (See coloured plate 

 of Agaricus campestris.) 

 (6) As the button grows the veil stretches, and finally breaks, 



13 



Club-shaped bodies 



Section across gill (magnified) 



