Are mushrooms plants? No, they are macrofungi!

Speaking of fungi, some people may say that they don’t know much about them, but if you mention mushrooms, I’m sure everyone will say:

Mushrooms, I know, they look like umbrellas, and my mother often stir-frys them to eat!

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

But do you really know mushrooms?

What are mushrooms?

What are usually called mushrooms are a type of fungi, namely the fruiting bodies of basidiomycetes. The fruiting body is the above-ground part of the basidiomycete that grows out of the ground, and it looks like an umbrella stuck in the ground. There are also white filamentous mycelium that spreads everywhere underground. This is the vegetative part of the basidiomycete, that is, the non-reproductive organ. In an environment with a certain temperature and humidity, the mycelium obtains enough nutrients and begins to form fruiting bodies. In the early stage, the fruiting body is like an egg exposed on the ground, and quickly develops into a fruiting body with a cap, stipe, thorax, and ring. The shape, size, height, color, and texture of mature fruiting bodies vary greatly. The large ones can reach a diameter of about 40 cm and a height of about 50 cm; the small ones are no more than half a centimeter in diameter and no more than 1 cm in height.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The "umbrella top" of the mushroom - the cap

The cap is the most obvious part of the fruiting body, like a hat. There are many shapes, the most common ones are bell-shaped, bamboo hat-shaped, hemispherical, flat, funnel-shaped, etc. The color of the cap is very complex. Although it can be basically distinguished into white, yellow, brown, gray, red, green, purple and other colors, there are differences in deep, light, light and dark colors among each color, and mixed colors are more common.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The color of the young and mature ones can be different, and the color of the center and the edge is often different. The surface can be dry, moist, sticky, smooth, rough, and some have various appendages: such as cilia, annular patterns, various scales, etc. The shape, size, and color of these appendages vary. The shape of the edge of the cap is also different. The shape of the young and mature ones can be completely different. After maturity, it can generally be divided into involution, recurvature, upward curvature, extension, etc.

The periphery may be entire and neat, or wavy and irregular or torn. There is a cortex on the surface of the cap. The cortical hyphae contain different pigments, which makes the cap appear in various colors. Under the cortex is the flesh, which is generally composed of long filamentous hyphae, and some are composed of swollen vesicle-like hyphae. The color of the flesh and the change of color after injury often vary with different species. Generally, the flesh is white or dirty white, and some are light yellow or red. For example, the flesh of Boletus edulis often turns blue-green after injury, the sparse-folded black mushroom turns red first and then black, the curled-edge net-folded mushroom turns brown after injury, and the black wax umbrella turns black after injury.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The "ribs" of mushrooms - the hymenium

The hymenium is the part that grows under the cap and produces the hymenium. Some are leaf-shaped, called gills. Some are tubular, called tubes. The gills are arranged radially, connecting the top of the stipe in the center and reaching the edge of the seedling cap outward. The hymenium is arranged on both sides of the gills or exists around the tube.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

Let's talk about the gills first. The color of the gills that we often see is generally the color of the spores. When they are young, they are generally white, and they become various colors when they are mature. The shapes of the gills include wide, narrow, and triangular. There are equal lengths, unequal lengths, and forked gills. Some gills are connected by transverse veins, and some are interwoven into a net near the end of the stipe. The edges of the gills are usually complete and smooth, but some are wavy or serrated, and some have rough edges with granules. The way the gills are connected to the stipe is one of the important bases for classification. There are usually the following types.

(1) Free: The gills are not connected to the stipe, so there is a distance between the gills and the stipe.

(2) Curved: The junction between the gills and the stipe is slightly curved upward.

(3) Straight: The gills are directly connected to the stipe and do not extend downward or bend upward.

(4) Extension: The gills extend downward along the stipe.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The tubes can be long or short, and the way they are connected to the stem is generally similar to the way the gills are connected to the stem. There are also free, curved, straight and extended tubes. Some are easy to separate from the flesh, and the tubes are also very easy to separate from each other. However, those that are not arranged radially and resemble gills are not easy to separate from each other. Their colors vary, and they may be the same or different from the color of the tube mouth.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The sides of the gills and the inside of the tube are covered with hymenium. There are basidia, cysts, etc. in the hymenium. The basidia are usually rod-shaped, with four stalks, each of which has a basidiospore. Sometimes only two stalks are produced, producing two basidiospores. Basidiospores are simply called spores. Its shape, color, size, and pattern are one of the important bases for mushroom classification. The cysts grow between the basidia. Most of them originate from the same basidia and are distributed on the entire surface of the gills. Because of their different attachment positions, they are given different names. Those growing on both sides of the gills are called cysts, and those growing on the edge of the gills are called fringe cysts. They are generally longer than the basidia, extending beyond the hymenium, and are usually thicker than the basidia, but there are also those that are thinner than the basidia.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The "umbrella handle" of mushrooms - the stipe, the pedicel, and the ring

Most of the stipes grow in the center of the cap, but some grow sideways or to one side. The texture of the stipes can be fleshy, waxy, fibrous or brittle. Some are difficult to separate from the cap, while others are very easy to separate. There are also many colors. The shapes are also different, such as cylindrical, rod-shaped, spindle-shaped, and pestle-shaped. The length ranges from 1 cm to 50 cm, and the thickness ranges from 1 mm to 12 cm.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The base of the stipe is sometimes swollen into a ball. The end may be flat, round, pointed or root-shaped. There are also many surface features of the stipe, some with longitudinal ridges, some with grooves, some with reticulations, some with pits, some with glandular dots, some smooth without any appendages, and some with various appendages such as scales, fragments, hairs, particles, cilia, etc. Some stipes are solid, some are hollow, and some are filled. However, these shapes may change with the growth stage.

In the early stages of development, the fruiting body is covered with a membrane called the involucre or outer veil. Some are very thick, while others are thin. During the development of the fruiting body, the thin membrane usually disappears without leaving any obvious traces; the thick membrane mostly remains at the base of the stipe, forming a bag or cup, which is the stipe . Its edges are neat or irregular, and some are not in the shape of a bract or cup but become several circles of fragments, surrounding the base of the stipe. The fragments of the outer veil are often attached to the surface of the cap, forming a variety of scales, fragments or particles of different sizes, which become one of the characteristics of that species.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

The annulus is the remnant of the inner veil. When the cap is developing, its edge is connected to the stipe, forming a membrane called the inner veil. This membrane can be thick, thin, or spider-web-like. After the fruiting body grows, the inner veil often leaves a ring on the stipe, which is the annulus. It can also leave some fragments or filaments on the stipe or on the edge of the cap.

(Photo source: veer photo gallery)

Conclusion

Understanding the structure is the first and most important step in identifying mushrooms. After all, mushrooms are a big family among fungi, and there are so many members and they are so diverse. Identifying mushrooms is indeed a big deal! In addition, the editor would like to remind you that although mushrooms are good, many of them are poisonous. Don’t eat them carelessly!

Editor: Sun Chenyu

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Life Pulse Team

Producer: China Science Expo