Slide show 2: Identifying Mushrooms II (25 minutes)

TEACHER:
This second program shows how to take a spore print. (See the lesson for taking a spore print in the teachers book.) We will also compare fungi with free vs attached vs notched gills. And we will study the Ascomycetes, the mushrooms that do not have a cap and stem body form. There is also a discussion of staining reactions, textures, smells, and habitat features and their role in mushroom identification.

NARRATIVE
 Slide 1 (Paul K,ee20) This is program 2 of Identifying mushrooms. In the previous program, we learned some basic vocabulary for parts of the mushroom, and that the mushroom is the reproductive structure of the fungal mycelia, which grow all through the soil.

  • Slide 2 (d9) We learned that the spore bearing surface of mushrooms may be gills
  • 3 (keith fujichrome bolete) or pores
  • 4 (gg19) Or that the spores may be produced on branch like structures,
  • 5 (i15) Spores may be produced in mushrooms that have the texture of jelly
  • 6 (j15) or that are shaped like balls
  • 7 (jj6) These mushrooms are growing in cespitose clusters.
  • Slide 8 (Cort. ponderosus) But the most important feature for identifying mushrooms is the color of the spores. Spores are so tiny that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.
  • Slide 9 (micrograph) But when we look at them under the microscope, their shape and size tell us a lot about which family the mushroom belongs to. But if spores are so tiny, how can we tell what color they are?
    Photos by Drake Barton:
  • Slide 10 (person with mushroom) We may look at the gills or pores, but they may or may not be the same color as the spores. So to find out what color the spores are, we take a spore print. This is how we do it.
  • Slide 11 First, take the mushroom and separate the cap and stem.
  • Slide 12 Place the cap on a clean sheet of white paper.
  • Slide 13 Cover the mushroom cap and paper with a glass or bowl so that the wind doesn't blow the spores away. Even indoors, the spores are so tiny that the little breezes created when you walk, speak, or close a door can blow them away. Leave the cap on the paper for at least an hour, or maybe longer.
  • Slide 14 When you take the cap away, you will see the spore deposit on the paper. Spore colors range from white to yellow, from rusty brown to chocolate brown, and they may even be pink, green, or black. Your class may make spore prints together so you can see how it is done.
    You should take a spore print of every mushroom you collect for identification.
  • Slide 15 (T terrestris) While you are looking at the gills, notice how the gills are attached to the stem. The gills may not touch the stem at all. In this picture you can see the gill-free zone between the gills and the stipe. We call these free gills.
  • Slide 16 The arrow points to the gill free zone visible on this Agaricus mushroom
  • Slide 17 (T. flavovirens) Other gills look notched The gills are cutaway but still touch the stem. Sometimes the notches are so deep they don't seem to touch the stem at all.
  • Slide 18 (ee-10) while some gills are fully attached to the stem.
  • Slide 19 (kk1) attached gills are also called adnate gills
  • Slide 20 (C. albirhiza) These gills are called decurrent. Notice the way they trail off down the side of the stem.
  • Slide 21 (L. volemus)
  • Slide 22(pp17) Another important observation to make when collecting mushrooms is to check for staining reactions. Some mushrooms, like this Suillus, immediately stain bright blue if you scrape the stem.
  • Slide 23(R. densifolia) Other staining reactions may be harder to notice, like the pinkish stain that slowly turns gray on the stem of this Russula. It may take 3 to 5 minutes for this stain to appear.
  • Slide 24(dd16) Look at this example of blue and brown stains on the pores and flesh of this mushroom
  • Slide 25(A. meleagris) And look at the brown stains which slowly appear on these mushrooms when they are bruised or scraped. Just picking a mushroom may cause it to change color. Other mushrooms will stain only when they are exposed to certain chemicals. Staining reactions are fairly common in fungi, and give us a very useful way to tell mushrooms apart.
  • Slide 26(R.brevipes) Another important feature to observe is the texture of the mushroom. The Russula mushrooms are so brittle that the stipe can be broken off with a snap like breaking a piece of chalk
  • Slide 27 These Marasmius mushrooms have a stem that is so tough and fibrous the mushroom will not break up when it is shaken
  • Slide 28 (ganoderma applanatum) These Ganoderma mushrooms have a solid, woody texture. They are tough to break apart even with a hatchet. There are many different mushrooms we call conks which are woody and often grow on logs or stumps. They are almost always sessile.
  • Slide 29 Notice the shiny surface of these conks. They are used as medicine in Japan and China.
  • SLIDE 30 (Fuscoboletinus)Another aspect of texture which is important in telling mushrooms apart is the texture of the cap. The cap of a mushroom may be slimy or dry. Slimy caps are called glutinous, if the slime forms drippy, snot-like globs that can stick to your fingers. Sometimes even the stem is glutinous, as in this picture.
  • Slide 30 (stropharia) and we call them viscid, if they are sticky to the touch
  • Slide 31(f12) Remember that in dry weather even a slimy mushroom cap will be dry, so look for pine needles or debris stuck to the cap. These things stick to the cap when it is moist and sticky, and give you an important clue when the weather turns dry,
  • Slide 32 (013) and both slimy caps and dry caps look the same.
  • Slide 33 A very important and often overlooked feature of mushrooms is their smell. Two mushrooms may look very much alike, but we can tell them apart by their different smells.Some mushrooms smell wonderful. These Japanese matsutake mushrooms smell like cinnamon and are considered a delicacy.
  • Slide 34 (kk12)These American pine mushrooms smell just like the Japanese matsutake, and often sell for over $100 a pound.
  • Slide 35 (Gautieria monticola) Others may be terrible smelling. These skunk truffles smell like rotten onions. Squirrels eat them when they are really hungry.
  • Slide 36 (Tuber sp.) On the other hand, truffles like these smell awesome, and people pay up to $500 a pound for them. They are sliced thin and eaten raw in salads or on top of spaghetti.
  • SLIDE 37 (Msla. 8/91)This Stinkhorn smells like rotting meat. These mushrooms attract flies and other insects that eat rotten things. The flies step on the green goo that contains the spores, and it sticks to their feet until they land on something else that is stinky, and probably good food source for a fungus.
  • Slide 38 (paxina ace) But wait a minute. The stinkhorn doesn't have a cap and stem, and neither does the truffle.
  • A great number of mushrooms have the ascomycete sex type, and their body form is quite different. Many of these mushrooms look like small cups. This mushroom has veins on the outside of the cup, and spores are produced only on the brown fertile surface inside.
  • Slide 39(aleuria) The cup fungi almost always produce spores on the inside of the cup
  • Slide 40 (microstoma)Sometimes these cups are borne on stalks
  • Slide 41 This Gyromitra mushroom has turned its cup inside out to make a hollow ball.
  • Slide 42 (xylosphaera sp) Some Ascomycetes form scary shapes like these so called Dead Mans Fingers
  • Slide 43 Or what about these spade-shaped Spathularia fungi?
  • Slide 44 Few people would even recognize these Xylaria as fungi.
  • Slide 45 (G. cooperii) And several cup fungi have become folded in on themselves to form these ball-shaped truffles, which grow underground.

    The important differences between ascomycetes and basidiomycetes are only visible under the microscope. We will learn more about these differences when we study the life cycles of fungi.

  • Slide 46 (L. insigne) And last but not least, the mushroom's habitat is very important. A mushroom that grows under pine may look a lot like a mushroom that grows under aspen
  • Slide 47 (L.aurantiacum), but they are different species.
  • Slide 48 (z15)This delicious edible mushroom grows under loose soil, but.......
  • Slide 49 (A. xanthoderma) These similar-looking poisonous mushrooms grow in pastures. So you can see it is very important to know WHERE a mushroom grows, and what kind of habitat it prefers.

    So let's review the important things to watch for when identifying mushrooms. We know that mushrooms have many different body forms, and two major sex types,

  • Slide 50 the Basidiomycetes
  • Slide 51 And the Ascomycetes. It is important to note a mushroom's spore color in order to know which group it belongs to. Notice the jet black spore print of this so called "Devil's Cigar."
  • Slide 52 Spores may be white, black, light or dark brown, pink, and even yellow or green. We must take a spore print in order to learn what color a mushroom's spores are. Lucky for us, these mushrooms left their white spore print on these mosses.
  • Slide 53 (Lepoita) The way the gills are attached to the stem is an important feature to notice when identifying mushrooms with the cap and stem body form.
  • Slide 54 The texture of the mushroom cap and stipe are also important. Is the stipe brittle or fibrous? Is the cap dry or slimy? Or is it covered with hairs, like this one?
  • Slide 55 Smell is also important when identifying mushrooms. Many mushrooms have a unique smell that is unlike the smell of any other mushroom.

    And again, it is important to know the mushroom's habitat. Always notice where the mushroom is growing. Is it growing under pine trees or leafy trees, in the forest or in the meadow, or is it growing on moss or dung?

    This is the end of our second program. Be sure to fill out your study sheets.

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