Laura Smith
Mushrooms are fungi that exhibit a wide range of physical differences, with various structures under their caps, including gills, pores, ridges, or teeth. The gills, or lamellae, are thin-walled structures that are found in clusters around the stem of many mushroom species. They are the primary site for spore production and dispersal, and their intricate patterns and attachment styles are important for species identification. The presence of gills increases the surface area for spore production, enhancing the efficiency of spore dispersal. Gills can be distinguished from other structures by their thin, blade-like appearance, and they can be further identified by their attachment style to the stem, spacing, length, and forking or branching patterns.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Producing and releasing spores |
| Appearance | Thin, papery veils that hang vertically beneath the cap |
| Types | Attached (adnate), decurrent, notched, lamellae (true gills), false gills |
| Identification | Color, crowding, shape, spacing, length, forking, attachment to the stem |
| Species | Agarics, Gompus, Chanterelle, Hedgehog, Lion's Mane, Meadow, Brick Tops, Jack O'Lantern, Tricholoma |
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What You'll Learn
Gills are used for spore dispersal
Gills are one of the most common structures used by mushrooms for spore dispersal. They are thin, papery veils that hang vertically beneath the cap, resembling delicate curtains. The gills are important for species identification. The attachment of the gills to the stem is classified based on the shape of the gills when viewed from the side. The colour, crowding, and shape of individual gills can also be important features. For example, Lactarius species typically seep latex from their gills.
The sole purpose of mushroom gills, also known as lamellae, is to produce and release spores. Attached gills, also known as adnate gills, are more commonly seen in mushrooms. In this type of attachment, the gills are broadly connected to the stem without any noticeable gap. Decurrent mushroom gills are a fascinating variation, where the gills extend beyond their attachment point and run down the stem. The edge of a decurrent gill is often slanted, giving the appearance of a widening gill as it approaches the stem.
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 the ends of a series of tubes within the mushroom cap. Spores are produced on the sides of these tubes and are eventually released, falling down the tube and out through the pore into the air. Boletes are a common group of mushrooms with pores, forming symbiotic relationships with tree roots and are usually found on the ground near trees during the summer.
Mushrooms have also evolved other mechanisms for spore dispersal, such as teeth or spines. Tooth fungi have long, thin teeth that hang downward and produce spores. They have a similar setup and function to gilled fungi, but the process is done through their spiny teeth. While gills are the most well-known spore-producing surface in mushrooms, they are not the only ones. The fungal world contains diverse structures designed to disperse spores.
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Gill spacing and length can help identify mushrooms
Gills are one of the most common structures used by mushrooms for spore dispersal. These thin, papery veils hang vertically beneath the cap, resembling delicate curtains that conceal the mushroom’s reproductive prowess. The sole purpose of mushroom gills, also known as lamellae, is to produce and release spores.
Gill spacing is a feature that, combined with others like cap shape, stem structure, and habitat, can provide a comprehensive understanding of the mushroom in question. The gills might be tightly packed together, close together, spaced apart, or widely spaced apart. Widely spaced gills are found on waxy caps, while brick tops have closely spaced gills.
Gill length is also important. 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.
Another important factor is forking, or whether the gills branch off from one another. Some gills don’t go all the way to the stem, and some gills run down the stem and fork. False gills on chanterelles may appear forked, but they are not separate features that can be individually picked off.
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Attached gills are more common
Attached gills, also known as adnate gills, are the most common type of gills found in mushrooms. Adnate gills are broadly connected to the stem, with no noticeable gap between the two. They may run straight into the stem or curve slightly downwards before attaching. This type of gill attachment is often considered the default, as it is a characteristic shared by many mushrooms.
The attachment of mushroom gills to the stem is classified based on the shape of the gills when viewed from the side. The colour, crowding, and shape of individual gills can also be important features for identification. For example, Lactarius species typically seep latex from their gills.
While attached gills are the most common type, there are several other types of gill attachments found in mushrooms. Decurrent mushroom gills are a fascinating variation, where the gills extend beyond their attachment point and run down the stem, below the level of the main part of the gills. The edge of a decurrent gill is often slanted, resulting in a widening appearance as it approaches the stem. This type of attachment is commonly observed in mushrooms such as Tricholoma species.
Notched gills, also known as emarginate, are a close cousin of attached gills, with a slight variation in their attachment pattern. Another type of gill attachment is the short gill, where the gills do not run all the way from the stem to the cap. Forking gills are also worth noting, where the gills branch off from one another, such as in the jack o'lantern mushroom.
In addition to true gills, some mushrooms exhibit false gills. The edible chanterelle mushroom has structures that appear forked but are actually false gills. Unlike true gills, false gills cannot be individually picked off. False gills are little more than folds, wrinkles, or veins, and the structure of the fertile surface (hymenium) continues uninterrupted over the gill edge.
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False gills exist and are found on chanterelles
Mushrooms have evolved various mechanisms to ensure the widespread distribution of their spores. One of the most common structures used by mushrooms for spore dispersal is the gill, a papery hymenophore rib under the cap of some mushroom species, most often agarics. The gills are important for species identification and can have distinctive microscopic or macroscopic features.
The false chanterelle’s gills also run down the stem a little way, which increases the confusion with the true chanterelle. The gills of the false chanterelle come to an abrupt end along the stem instead of gradually tapering. True chanterelle gill ridges tend to diminish as they go down the stem without a clear endpoint. The false chanterelle’s gills are also sharp at the edges and can be scraped off easily.
The genus Gomphus also has false gills. These primitive lamellae indicate how the evolution towards true gills probably happened.
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Mushrooms can have teeth instead of gills
Mushrooms have evolved various mechanisms to ensure the widespread distribution of their spores. Gills are one of the most common structures used by mushrooms for spore dispersal. These thin, papery veils hang vertically beneath the cap, resembling delicate curtains that conceal the mushroom’s reproductive prowess. The sole purpose of mushroom gills, also known as lamellae, is to produce and release spores. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal and are important for species identification. The attachment of the gills to the stem is classified based on the shape of the gills when viewed from the side, while colour, crowding, and the shape of individual gills can also be important features.
However, some mushrooms have teeth instead of gills. Teeth are another method of spore dispersal. 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) is a popular edible closely related to the golden chanterelle. Another species, known as Hericium erinaceus (also called Lion's Mane, Bearded Tooth, or Bearded Hedgehog), is a delicious edible with possible medicinal properties. Teeth on a hedgehog mushroom are usually less than 5cm long. Mushrooms with teeth are usually easy to tell apart from mushrooms with gills or pores.
Mushrooms with teeth can also have them on their caps. Caps, also known as pilei, are the structures on top of mushrooms that hold the gills or pores. They come in different shapes, sizes, colours, and textures. Since their shape is unique from species to species, doing research on specific mushroom species will be helpful for identification. Lion's mane mushrooms, for instance, are tooth fungi, meaning that instead of a spherical dome cap, they have "teeth" or shaggy hair-like structures that hang around the mushroom and produce spores.
False gills are another variation in mushroom anatomy. The edible chanterelle has structures that appear forked but are actually "false gills". Unlike true gills, they are not separate features that can be individually picked off. False gills on a chanterelle appear as melted folds on the underside of a mushroom. The underside of the cap and a little down the stem tend to look more like the folds of a raisin than the edge of pages in a book.
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Frequently asked questions
Gills are thin, papery veils that hang vertically beneath the cap of some mushroom species. They are also known as lamellae.
The sole purpose of mushroom gills is to produce and
Gills are one of the most common structures used by mushrooms for spore dispersal. The spores are distributed through various structures, such as gills, pores, teeth, and other intricate surfaces.
