![]() 'Sometimes the spores can immediately place the fungus into a genus' This is usually at the end of the spore opposite the apiculus (the apiculus is where the spore was attached to the sterigma). This is an area where the wall of the spore shows a distinct thinning and where germinating hyphae will emerge. Loosening perispore and spore walls – in some species the outer wall of the spore (perispore) loosens and detatches itself giving the spore a characteristic outline (Galerina calyptrata, some Coprinus species). Guttules – the presence of one or more droplets within the spore It should be noted that many spores are completely smooth. Ornamentation – range from spines to warts of various sizes as well as networks of ridges. Most good field guides include illustrations of different spore shapes Fungi of Switerland (Breitenbach and Kranzlin, Vols 1 – 6) have good illustrations of spore shape alongside each included species. Shape – spores vary in shape from globose to ellipsoid, from limoniform (lemon shaped) to reniform (kidney shaped) or lacrymoid (tear shaped), they can be strangulated in the centre or shaped like a bullet. It is usual to measure both the length and the width of a spore using micrometres or microns (ie 1000 th of a millimetre!) often written μ. Size – a calibrated graticule in one of the eyepieces is necessary to measure spores. A magnification of at least x 400 is recommended for looking at spores. Their colour can be seen without the use of a microscope but other features can only be seen with a microscope. Spores are a very useful aid to identification. The apiculus is the name given to the short projection at one end of the spore where it was attached to the sterigma. Each spore is raised on a projection called a sterigma (plural sterigmata) and it is usually necessary to focus up and down on the basidia to check how many spores are present. In most genera each basidium carries 4 spores although occasionally some species will have 2 or 3 (eg some Laccaria and Entoloma species) and very occasionally (eg some Sistotrema species) 6 or 8. The scalp presents a ‘bird’s eye view’ of the structures, a section gives you a ‘side on view’.ĭon’t forget that other features such as cap cystidia, veil remnants and scales might also require close examination.Īgaric and bolete spores are produced on special cells called basidia, which cover the gill (or tube) face and sometimes edge. There are other characters within the cap cuticle that can be viewed by taking a section rather than a scalp. These structures are often best observed at a lower magnification e.g. Galerina, Cortinarius, Stropharia, AgaricusĪs with the gill tramas there are some fungi that present intermediate forms particularly in the genus Pluteus. Conocybe, Coprinus, Panaeolus, Psathyrella, Bolbitiusįilamentous – where the cap cuticle is composed of horizontally arranged filamentous hyphae e.g. ![]() There are two basic cuticle structures that you will be able to see by taking a scalp from the toadstool (see ‘Fungal microscopy techniques’ below):Ĭellular – where the cap cuticle is composed of more or less spherical elements, arranged in a palisade across the cap e.g. As mentioned above in ‘Structures in the flesh’, the cap cuticle can be useful in determining the genus (and occasionally species) of some fungi.
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