The mushroom has two parts. The part underground is called the mycelium.

It gets food for the mushroom. Sometimes it

dies quickly, but if it gets enough food it may live for hundreds of years.
The umbrella-shaped body of a mushroom that we can see is called the fruit or sporophore. It only lives for a few days.
The fruit starts out as a small button which grows into a stalk and a cap. The stalk or stem grows quickly because it
can absorb a lot of water. As the cap becomes larger it unfolds like an umbrella. Soon small plates, called
gills, appear under the mushrooms cap. They have small seeds or spores on them. When these spores fall off the
mushroom the wind blows them away. If they fall on a warm, wet area a new mycelium develops.
Mushrooms can have a diameter of up to 40 cm. Although some may be very colourful, most mushrooms are white,
brown or yellow.
You can think of spores as fungi seeds. Mushrooms produce and drop millions of spores with the intention that some of them will
germinate, fuse together, and grow into new mycelium. Mycelium is the actual organism from which mushrooms are created. To
make a comparison: the mycelium is the tree, the mushrooms it produces are the apples, and the spores created by the mushrooms
are the apple seeds.
The tissue that creates these spores (called the hymenium) is found on a few different types of structures. We'll examine these
structures individually starting with gills, moving on to pores, and ending with teeth (my favorite!). Finally we'll identify
mushrooms that disperse spores without using gills, pores, or teeth.
The Gilled Mushrooms

Mushroom gills are the thin, papery structures that hang vertically under the cap. The sole purpose of
these gills, called lamellae, is to produce spores. The spores are then dropped from the gills by the
millions where they are scattered by wind currents.
Examining the gills is important when identifying mushrooms. Mycologists have many terms to describe
gill structure, some very precise and complicated. Here are some of the more common features of
mushroom gills:

Stem attachment. Observe how the gills attach to the stem. They may be "decurrent", meaning they run
down the stem as with oyster mushrooms. They may be "free", meaning they don't attach to the stem at
all as with portobellos or amanitas. Or they may be attached directly or by a notch. Your guidebook will
tell you more.

Color and bruising. Note the color of your mushroom's gills. Sometimes they will be very different from
the cap color. If you apply pressure to them with your fingernail or a knife they may bruise a different
color. These features can help you identify mushrooms with gills.

Gill spacing. Notice how many gills are packed into the underside of the cap. Is it crowded with many gills
in one place or is there space between them? This can admittedly be hard to judge!

Length. Sometimes the gills may not run all the way from the stem to the cap. These are called "short
gills" and may be helpful in making a proper identification.

Forking. Whether or not the gills fork (branch off from one another) can be another important factor when
trying to identify mushrooms.
Occasionally forking gills may fool you! The edible chanterelle has structures that appear forked but these
are actually "false gills". Unlike true gills, they are not separate features that can be individually picked off.
Instead they appear as melted folds on the underside of a mushroom. Learn to distinguish true from
false gills if attempting to pick chanterelles.
A great way to safely examine mushroom gills is to buy some portobello mushrooms from your grocery
store. This allows you to pick and prod at them to your heart's content. You may see some recipes asking
to remove the gills before cooking. This is not due to any danger but for aesthetic reasons. The gills tend
to give a darker, grayish color to the rest of the meal, which may not look very appetizing!

Species With Pores

Another structure used for spore dispersal instead of a gill is known as a pore. Mushroom pores appear as
small holes on the underside of the cap.
These holes are actually the ends of a series of tubes within the mushroom cap. Spores are produced on
the sides of these tubes and eventually they are released where they fall down the tube, out the pore, and
into the air. Wind, animals, and insects will further carry them from there.
When trying to identify mushrooms, be sure to note the pore surface. Traits such as color, pore size, and
pore pattern may help indicate the species. A key or guidebook will help you narrow it down, although
remember that certain features may change as a mushroom ages. (Don't worry though, gills will never
change into pores!)
Two common groups of mushrooms with pores are boletes (the Boletus genus) and polypores. Some quick
characteristics of each:

Boletes are mycorrhizal, meaning they form symbiotic relationships with the roots of trees. Thus they are
mainly found growing on the ground near trees, usually in the summer.

Most boletes have a stalk, an umbrella-shaped top, and disperse spores through the small pores
underneath the cap. This pore-laden area beneath the cap is often quite spongy.

Some boletes, such as the porcini mushroom (Boletus edulis), are considered choice edibles. Others may
produce gastric distress, particularly certain red-pored boletes. Don't assume any bolete that you find is
edible! Take the time to make a positive identification.

Unlike boletes, polypores almost always grow on wood and never on the ground. They're found on rotting
trees, stumps, and logs.

Polypores are normally shaped like shelves, hence the term "bracket fungi". They don't have caps or a
distinct stem.

Polypores contain no poisonous species, making them a good group to examine when learning to identify
mushrooms. Some are also known to have medicinal value. Examples of these would be the reishi
mushroom(Ganoderma lucidum) and the turkey tail (Trametes versicolor).
Yet another method of spore dispersal is through teeth (also called spines). Tooth fungi have long, thin
"teeth" that hang downward and produce spores. They have basically the same setup and function as
gilled fungi; only the process is done through their spiny teeth.
Although there are fewer mushrooms with teeth than their gilled and pored counterparts, this group of
fungi still contains some interesting species. The hedgehog mushroom (Hydnum repandum, photo to the
right) is a popular edible closely related to the golden chanterelle. Another species known asHericium
erinaceus (also called Lion's Mane, Bearded Tooth, or Bearded Hedgehog) is a delicious edible with
possible medicinal properties.
Tooth fungi are usually easy to tell apart from mushrooms with gills or pores. The teeth may hang down a
few millimeters or even more than a centimeter!When trying to identify mushrooms, the presence of
teeth will narrow down your search considerably.

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Some Unique Examples

Here are some mushrooms that don't reproduce through gills, pores, or teeth:

Chanterelles. As discussed above, those folds under the cap are false gills, not true gills. Chanterelles drop
spores from the undersides of their curled caps, which are often smooth.

Stinkhorn spores are produced in a foul smelling jelly that covers the top of the mushroom. Flies are
attracted and spread the spores after landing. Yuck!

Puffballs, including the giant puffball, release their spores through a hole in the top (called an ostiole) or
when the mushroom ruptures.

The hymenium (spore creating tissue) of most coral fungi occurs as a microscopic layer covering all the
branches. Spores simply drop from there.

Similar to coral fungi, cup fungi have a spore-bearing surface on the inside of the cup with no pores or
gills.

The famous morel mushroom contains spore-producing sacs along the insides of its pits or wrinkles.

And more! Many other types of jelly-like fungi, molds, and mildews release spores through methods other
than gills, pores, or teeth. However, I don't suspect you'll be trying to eat those!

This is an example of the scientific classification of an oyster mushroom:

Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Hymenomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Tricholomataceae
Genus: Pleurotus
Species: Pleurotus ostreatus
This is an example of the scientific classification of a button or white mushroom:
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Agaricaceae
Genus: Agaricus
Species: Agaricus Bisporus
This is an example of a scientific classification for a meadow mushroom:
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Class: Hymenomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Agaricaceae

Genus: Agaricus
Species: Agaricus campestris
Other mushroom species have a multitude of different classifications. Although all mushrooms share some similarities,
they are a very diverse species.

bricktop-A late fall shroom, found in clustered growth on deciduous (oak,maple,etc) logs. Usually a brick red
color cap, with purplish-gray gills. Very good to eat, but caution needs to be given on identification.
A purple-brown sporeprint is key.
The lions mane, is a white beard-like mushroom growth, that likes living on just about dead decidous trees. The
beard when examined more closely looks like long white spines, & is found in late summer into fall If this
shroom is beginning to turn yellow, leave it. They will have a bittery taste then.
The Blewit is a lilac to purple capped mushroom, with purplish gills, and a thick stem, usually very wide at the
base of the stem.Spore print is pinkish buff. Another choice late fall shroom
A Quick Analogy: A spore is much like a seed. It contains all of the genetic information that will grow and produce the fruit of the
mushroom. The mushroom is the sex organ of the mushroom that will produce spores or "seeds".
The Definition: A spore is a nearly microscopic, sometimes single-celled reproductive body that is extremely resistant to desiccation
and heat and is capable of growing into a new organism, produced especially by certain bacteria, fungi, algae, and nonflowering
plants.
Mycelial Reproduction: When spores germinate (reproduce) a thread emerges from the spore casing. When two threads from
different spore bodies intersect, they attempt to mate through a hook and clamp connection. A tiny pipe is opened between threads
and genetic material is exchanged. The genetically complete threads become hyphae and begin to grow.
Spores have four combinations of sexes. Not all intersecting threads are able to mate. Not all matings will produce fertile mycelia.
Spores form as swellings on one or more subtending hypha in the soil or in roots. These structures contain lipids, cytoplasm and
many nuclei. Spores usually develop thick walls with more than one layer and can function as propagules. Spores may be aggregated
into groups called sporocarps. Sporocarps may contain specialized hyphae and can be encased in an outer layer (peridium). Spores
apparently form when nutrients are remobilised from roots where associations are senescing. They function as storage structures,
resting stages and propagules. Spores may form specialized germination structures, or hyphae may emerge through the subtending
hyphae or grow directly through the wall.
A single spore contains a half set of chromosomes (known as haploid), much like any reproductive cell (ova or sperm). The spore has
a protein sheath (the colored part that we can see) which encases the cell. When optimal conditions surround the spore, it will
germinate. This is when it pushes its cellular mass through the protein sheath (at the germ pore) by expansion from re-absorbed
water. This mass is a fine filament called the monokaryote (aka: the primary mycelium). It still has a half set of chromosomes. This
monokaryote grows (still a single cell with a single nucleus) until it finds a compatible monokaryote to mate with. It does this by
touching and dissolving its cell wall while the mate does the same. They effectively just merge to become one cell with 2 nuclei.
Though the clamp connection serves a different function.
This is where things get strange. After the mating, the resultant cell can now reproduce by mitosis, but the cell still has 2 nuclei, as
mentioned. So, when it mitoses, the 2 nuclei split for a total of 4 nuclei, but still only 2 cells. Speed of growth is much greater in
these dikaryotic mycelial threads, because they don't have to stretch a single cell over a long gap. They simply split into more cells to
spread.
Clamp connections form between 2 dikaryotic mycelial masses. This is how one of those little fuzzy white patches (aka mycelium)
mates with the other white patches. The dikaryotic mycelia "clamps" together. Thus, reproduction is complete.
Dikaryotic: Having two different and distinct nuclei per cell; found in the fungi. A dikaryotic individual is called a dikaryon.
Hyphae: Any of the threadlike filaments forming the mycelium of a fungus.
Mycelia: The vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, threadlike hyphae.

Peridium: The covering of the spore-bearing organ in many fungi.