Anatomy of a Mushroom

Anatomy of a Mushroom - Analysis

1. The stalk is shaped like a cylinder and it is of a creamy beige color. The texture of the stalk is soft and smooth; however the composition of the stalk is arranged in lines. The cap is shaped like a dome and the bottom of the dome is flat. The area where the stalk and the cap combine is indented all around. The cap is also of a creamy beige color and the texture is soft and the composition of the cap is arranged in different layers that one can peel. The cap appears smooth. The gills are layers under the cap and it is of a pinkish brown color with lines separating each gill. The texture of the gill is soft and it appears to be ruffled and arranged in lines.

2. When viewed under the microscope, the tissues of the stalk are grouped together by lines. In each section, there are multiple lines and some sections are darker than the others. The tissues of the cap are not grouped by anything. Instead of being lines, the tissues of the cap are filled with multiple demented circular, yet curvy shaped items. These circular shapes are scattered around randomly and some are even stuck together to form one big shape. Inside each shape, there are dots and each circle is different from another circle in terms of size, shape and shade. On the other hand, the tissue of the gills are also circles, however, these circles are extremely tiny and small when compared to the tissues of the cap. These circles seem to be perfectly round and the same shade as every other circle. The circles are also scattered around the cell randomly.

3. The attached spores are arranged in clusters on the gill hyphae. The gills are covered with basadia and basdia produces spores. Each basadia produces up to four spores; therefore the attached spores are arranged in clusters of four all over the gill hyphae.