1. Joys of mushroom collecting!
Mushroom identification
basics
Bradford Condon, Ellen Crocker
Floracliff 2016, Lexington Kentucky

2. What are the parts of a
mushroom?

3. Cap
(Pileus)
Ring
(Annulus) Stem
(Stipe)
Base
Gills
What are the parts of a
mushroom?

4. Mushroom structures and
characteristics

5. Mushroom structures and
characteristics

6. Cap characteristics

7. Cap characteristics

8. Cap characteristics

10. Spore print

11. Ring or annulus

12. Vovla (or bulb at base)

13. Different life stages

14. Gill trama
Divergent gill trama
What does the flesh of the gills look like
under the microscope?
Growth center to edge: divergent
From edge to center: convergent
No pattern: interwoven
Parallel: Parallel
Most fungi are interwoven or parallel

15. Additional terminology
• Sphaerocysts: Rounded cells.
• Spores:
– Amyloid/dextrinoid/inamyloid (based on melzer’s reaction)
– Ornamented
– Smooth vs angular/knobby/pitted
– Spiny/reticulate
– Apical pore
sphaerocysts regular hyphae

17. Questions?