THE FUNGI 



267 



F 



of which are an immense number of radiating gills or 



lamellae, pink when young, but of a rich brown colour 



when mature. If we pull up a Mushroom entire we can 



see, hanging on to the base 



of the stalk, remains of the 



strands of mycelium from 



which it arose. In Fig. 107, 



A, is shown a large piece of 



the mycelium made up of the 



thick branched bundles of 



hyphse, and bearing a number 



of young fructifications. 



The fruit itself, like every 

 other fungal organ, is entirely 

 built up of hyphse. In the 

 stalk these filaments are closely 

 packed towards the outside, 

 forming an apparently paren- 

 chymatous cortex. Towards 

 the middle they are more 

 loosely arranged, so that the 

 individual threads are easily 

 distinguished, and large air- 

 spaces are left between them. 

 The multinucleate cells of 

 which the hyphse are composed 

 communicate with each other 

 by means of pits, one of which 

 is present in the middle of 

 each transverse wall. 



On the stalk of a ripe Mushroom, rather more than 

 half-way up, is a membranous ring, formed of the 

 remains of the veil, which at an earlier stage covered in 



A 



FIG. 107. Development 

 Mushroom. A, mycelium 

 (m} giving rise to a number 

 of young fructifications. 



B, very young mushroom 

 in section ; m, mycelium. 



C, slightly older ; /, the gills 

 just appearing. Z), still 

 older ; I, gills ; m, mycelium. 

 E, older again ; I, gills ; v, 

 velum ; st, stipe. F, nearly 

 ripe ; h, pileus ; other letters 

 as before. Reduced. (After 

 Sachs.) 



