Cap
The mushroom cap, also known as the pileus, is the structure on top of the mushroom that holds the gills or pores. They come in different shapes, sizes and textures. They can be smooth or covered with scales or teeth. The shape of a mushroom cap is unique from species tospecies, which is helpful for identification.
Mushroom cap undersides
Beneath the cap of many common mushrooms, you’ll find either gills (also known as lamellae), pores, ridges, or teeth. These are the parts of a mushroom’s anatomy that produce and release spores. The underside of a mushroom is sometimes the only way to distinguish between edible mushrooms and poisonous ones.
a) Mushroom gills: The mushroom gill is a small, thin-walled structure that surrounds the stem of the mushroom. It has an opening on one side and is usually found in clusters around the stem of mushrooms.
b) Mushroom ridges: There are mushrooms whose undersides look deceptively similar to gills, these false gills are actually ridges.
c) Mushroom pores: Other types of mushrooms have pores instead of gills. Like gills, pores produce spores, but they appear as small, sponge-like holes instead of thin blades. The little holes lead to tubes inside the cap. Similar to gills, these mushroom parts are helpful in indicating the species.
d) Mushroom Teeth: some mushrooms have developed some interesting traits to disperse their spores. Some of these traits include long thin, shaggy growths that hang from the mushroom cap called teeth.
Mushroom Spores
The microscopic reproductive cells that make it possible for fungi to replicate are called spores. Just like plants need seeds to reproduce, mushrooms need spores. If the visible mushroom is the “fruit”, the spore is the “seed”. Spores are found under the mushroom cap, within the gills or pores. There are no male or female spores because mushrooms typically reproduce asexually.
Mushroom Stems
A mushroom stem is the stalk of a mushroom, it’s also sometimes referred to as the stipe. Its primary function is to support the cap and the spores it contains. This part of a mushroom is long, sturdy, and shaped like a cylinder.
a) Mushroom Ring (Annulus): When some mushrooms are in the early stages of growth, they develop a partial veil that surrounds and protects the underside of the cap. As the mushroom matures and expands, its partial veil breaks away from the cap and is left hanging around the stem. This hanging part is the annulus, or mushroom ring.
b) Partial Veil: The temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies.
c) Mushroom Vulva: Other types of mushrooms also have a universal veil that encapsulates the entire mushroom during early development. As it matures, the universal veil breaks off. The pieces of the universal veil that remain attached to the bottom of the stem are the vulva.
d) Mushroom “scales”/ “spots”: Fragments of the universal veil often stick to the cap in patches, resembling warts.
Mycelium
Mycelium is an unseen but fascinating part of mushroom anatomy. They are made up of small networks of threads called hyphae.
Mushroom Hyphae: The smaller, individual branching units that make mycelium are called hyphae. This part of a mushroom begins to develop when a spore is carried to the fertile ground where it can germinate and shoot out tiny, filamentous hyphae strands. The collective unit of these ever-growing networks of hyphae is referred to as mycelium.
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