Mushroom
• Mushrooms are the type of higher or true fungi that grows abundantly on
humus soil, decaying organic matter of forest floors, rotting logs of wood,
dung of animals, moist straw etc.
• Mushrooms have basidiocarp as fruiting body and forms basidiospores in
basidium.
Structure of mushroom
• The vegetative body of a mushroom consists of two major parts. They are
mycelium and the fruiting body.
Mycelium:
• It is the underground vegetative part of mushrooms that consists of profuse
mass of branched, multicellular, and septate hyphae.
• Usually, it is of two types:
a. Primary mycelium: It originates by the germination of uninucleate
basidiospores of either +ve or -ve strain. It is short-lived and its hyphal cells
are monokaryotic (uninucleate).
b. Secondary mycelium: When two hyphal cells of opposite mating types of
primary mycelia fuse, the nucleus of one hyphal cell migrates to the other and
forms bi-nucleate secondary mycelium. So, it is dikaryotic (n+n). It is long-
lived.
With the return of favourable condition, the hyphal cell of secondary
mycelium that grows to a main body of mushroom above the ground or the
substrata is called fruiting body. The fruiting body of mushroom is also called
basidiocarp.
Fruiting body (Basidiocarp)
• Fruiting bodies are formed when sufficient food is absorbed by the mycelium.
• The fruiting body or basidiocarp consists of the following main parts:
a. Pileus: It is also known as a roof or cap. It is an umbrella-like head that
protects the growing basidiospores in the gills. The pileus may be white or
bright and colourful with scales on its upper surface.
b. Gills or lamellae: The ventral or under surface of the pileus bears gill cavity.
In this cavity, many thin, vertical plate-like structure which run out towards
the edge of pileus like the radiating bars of wheel are called gills or lamellae.
It is the reproductive part of a fruiting body which produces brown-coloured
reproductive spores called basidiospores.
c. Stipe or stalk: It is a fleshy structure which acts like a stem and supports the
umbrella-shaped heavy pileus. The stipe is made up of closely packed
colourless hyphae.
d. Annulus: It is a membranous ring-like structure that is present around the
upper part of the stipe just beneath the pileus.
e. Volva: It is a cup like structure present at the base of the stipe. Volva is a
remnant of the veil. Veil of velum is a very thin membrane that covers a young
basidiocarp. When the mushroom is matured, its velum ruptures and leaves its
remnant as volva (near the base of the stipe) and annulus (near the pileus on
the stalk or stipe).
A vertical section of the pileus through gills shows three distinct structures
as follows:
a. Trama: It is the central part/innermost portion of the gills which is made up
of loosely arranged interwoven mass of elongated hyphae.
b. Sub-hymenium: It lies in between trama and sub-hymenium and is composed
of compactly arranged short branches of hyphae.
c. Hymenium: It is the outermost layer/fertile portion of gill and lies on the
surface of sub-hymenium. It consists of two types of cells- paraphyses and
basidia.
Basidia are larger club-shaped cells and are binucleated. They are fertile cells
and later produce basidiospores.
Paraphyses are also bi-nucleated but are shorter and slender. They are sterile
cells and can’t produce basidiospores.
Difference between poisonous and edible mushrooms (study from book)
Economic importance of mushroom (by yourself)
Examples of edible and poisonous mushroom (by yourself)
Fig: Internal structure of gills
