Fungi -- Great Britain -- Identification; Mushrooms -- Identification
4. Using a low power of a microscope and looking down into the plane RS
of the unmodified block M or a similar block, one obtains by this simple
technique a very accurate idea as to the structure of the trama of the
gill (fig. 9). The organisation of this tissue is very important in
classification, some groups of toadstools having what has been described
as regular trama (fig. 9C), others irregular (fig. 9D), inverse (fig.
9B) or divergent (fig. 9A). This same tissue may be thick or sparse to
wanting, coloured or not. Such sections are often better than attempts
at very thin sections unless very specialised techniques are used. There
are few satisfactory thicknesses between the two extremes; the thick
sections you can do and the very thin requiring expert techniques.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.
Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.]
5. Take out a small block of tissue T as indicated in the figure (fig.
1). Mount immediately and repeat as in 3. This will allow the outer
layer of the cap to be more clearly seen (fig. 7A-C) and also the
structure of the flesh (fig. 10). The latter may be composed of a
mixture of filaments and ‘packets’ or ‘nests’ of rounded cells (i.e.
heteromerous), or of filaments, only some of which may be inflated (i.e.
homoiomerous); but when individual cells are swollen they never form
distinct groups. By very similar techniques it is possible to show that
the more woody fungi can have flesh composed of one of four types of
cells (Corner, 1932): these types depend on whether distinctly thickened
cells (plate 47) are present with the actively growing hyphae or not
(pp. 140-150), whether hyphae are present which bind groups of hyphae
together, etc. (plate 46).
6. Remove stem along line CD and cut out small blocks of tissue as
indicated (U, V and W). Mount immediately and examine as in paragraph 3,
for cystidia, etc. (see fig. 3).
Whilst all these sections are being cut and processed a second
fruit-body, if available, should be set to drop spores; this is done by
cutting off the cap from the stem and placing it either entirely or in
part, and with gill-edges down, on a slide in a tin.
7. Z is a ‘scalp’ of a cap; a thin sliver from the cap is placed on a
slide in a drop of water (modified with washing-up liquid, etc. as
above). After placing a cover-slip over the tissue it is tapped gently;
this will show if the cap is composed of globose to elliptic elements or
if it is composed of strictly filamentous units (figs. 6A & B). Care
must be taken not to reverse the section when transferring it to the
mountant, either by turning the scalpel or by allowing the surface
tension of the liquid to pull the section upside down. The construction
of any veil fragments will also be seen in this mount, and if a loose
covering of veil is present this should be removed before observation so
that it does not obscure the fundamental structures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account