GROWING GOURMET - Anto2ni.it

posites.
The method of spore ejection has been a subject
of much study and yet still remains largely
a mystery. At the junction between the spore and
the basidium's sterigma, an oily gas bubble
forms and inflates.This bubble swells to capacity
and explodes, ejecting spores with a force
that has been calculated to represent more than
6 atmospheres of pressure! After ejaculation,
the basidium collapses, making way for neighboring
basidia, until now dormant, to enlarge.
Successions of basidia mature, in ever increasing
quantities, until peaking at the time of
mushroom maturity. The well organized manner
by which populations of basidia emerge
from the plane of the gill optimizes the efficiency
of spore dispersal. After peak spore
production, spores cover the gill face several
layers deep, hiding the very cells from which
they arose. With aStropharia, this stage would
correspond to a mushroom whose gills had become
dark purple brown and whose cap had
flattened. Spore release at this stage actually declines
as the battery of basidia has been largely
exhausted and/or because the basidia are rendered
dysfunctional by the sea of overlying
spores.
Sterile or non-spore-producing cells that
adorn the gills are called cystidia. Cystidia on the
edge of the gills are called cheilocystidia, while
cystidia on the interior surface are called
pleurocystidia. (See Figures 54,55 and 56).The
cystidia appear to help the basidia in their development.
The extensive surface areas of the
cheilocystidia cause the humidity between the
gills to rise, thus preserving the hospitable moist
microclimate necessary for spore maturity. Some
pleurocystidia can project well beyond the surface
plane ofbasidia, and in doing, keep the gills
from contacting one another. Should the gills
touch, spore dispersal is greatly hampered. As the
THE MUSHROOM LIFE CYCLE 73
Figure 57. Mycelium of Pleurotus cystidiosus and
allies, species possessing both sexual and asexual
life cycles. Black droplet structures contain hundreds
of spores.
mushrooms mature, cystidia swell with metabolic
waste products. Often times an oily droplet
forms at their tips.The constant evaporation from
these large reserviors of metabolites is an effective
way of purging waste by-products and
elevating humidity. Some species having
pleurocystidia often have a high number of gills
per mm. of radial arc. In other words: more gills;
more spores. The survival of the species is better
assured.
Once spores have been discharged, the life
cycle has come full circle. Mature mushrooms
become a feasting site for small mammals (rodents
such as squirrels, mice, etc. ), large
mammals (deer, elk, bears, humans), insects,
gastropods (snails), bacteria, and other fungi.
From this onslaught, the mushroom quickly decomposes.
In due course, spores not
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