MUSHROOMS 



probably find the spores on the paper in the form of 

 the gills, as you see in the picture on this page. 



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. From 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 absorb 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 mycelium feeds on the 



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How Mushrooms Begin 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). 



