CHAPTER II 



SOME TERMS USED IN DESCRIBIN(; FUNGI 



Many of the terms, as apex, base, edge, or margin, etc., are self- 

 explanatory ; to those familiar only with the English language, 

 others are not. 



The general structure of fungi is so different to that of flowering 

 plants, that, as would be expected, quite a distinct set of names 

 or terms is used in describing them, and unless the student in the 

 first instance makes himself perfectly familiar with the terms in 

 general use, he will not be in a position to make much headway in 

 the study of fungi. 



The method followed will be to take the ^•arious structures and 

 parts collectively constituting a complete fungus, and indicate the 

 terms most generally in use. 



A perfectly developed fungus in a living condition consists of a 

 vegetative portion, which has only to do with the welfare of the 

 individual, ^^'llereas its repyodiictive portion is only concerned in 

 providing for the continuation or repetition of the same kind of 

 fungus in time. 



Vegetative portions 



The universal vegetative portion in the higher fungi is known 

 as mycelium, or spawn, and is usually buried in the substance or 

 substratum on which the fungus is growing. It consists of very 

 delicate threads or hyphcB (singular, hypha), which usually run 

 together and form snow-white, fleecy masses. Its function is 

 primarily to obtain food. In many instances the mycelium is 

 annual in its duration, or lives for only one season, perishing after 

 it has produced fruit. In other instances the mycelium is perennial, 

 or continues to live for several years, and producing fruit each 

 season. In other instances the mycelium becomes modified in 

 structure, and forms solid, hard masses, usually black externally, 

 and varying in size in different species from a pea to that of a 

 cricket ball, sometimes much larger. Such bodies are called 

 sclerotia (singular, sclerotiiim), and after remaining in an unchanged 

 or resting condition, are capable of p:)roducing fruit-bodies. Sclerotia 

 are met with in every group of fungi, and are often produced l)y 

 the mycelium when conditions are not fa\-ourable for the production 



