1] Introduction to Fungi 3 
brewers, or the mould that grows on jam or decaying 
fruit, and yet all these belong to the group of fungi. 
The best method of studying fungi is to grow them. 
The following experiment shows an easy way of doing 
this: allow a piece of bread to stand exposed to the 
air for a few hours. Then moisten it, and place it 
on a piece of damp blotting paper under a glass or bell 
Fig. 1. Mucor growing: on bread. 
jarina warmroom. Ina few days the surface becomes 
covered with white tufts having a velvety appearance. 
Under the microscope these appear as a number of 
white interlacing threads which are part of a fungus 
plant and collectively known as its mycelium. If one 
of these mycelial threads known as a hypha is carefully 
examined it is seen to consist of a tube-like structure 
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