The Veil
The next group of features that you want to look for comes about as the mushroom is developing. When a mushroom starts growing it tries not to dry out, which is hard for the gills not to do because there is so much surface area. A lot of mushrooms deal with this problem by forming a veil. (This is a thin layer of tissue.) Sometimes this veil covers the entire mushroom (the universal veil) — sometimes just the cap (a partial veil), and sometimes there are several veils (or layers) that may cover both. When we find the mushroom it is older and in many cases the veil has broken or vanished. Some of the characters that it leaves behind are:
A volva or cup at the base of the stipe. This is where the veil that covered the entire mushroom was attached. It can have several shapes and often these shapes are important in identifying the mushroom to species.
Patches on the top of the cap are remnants of the veil that covered the cap. These can vanish quickly for some kinds of mushrooms and are not usually the main feature in identifying a mushroom, but can sometimes be very important.
A ring on the stem is an important piece of evidence. Like the patches, the weather can take these away rather quickly for some mushrooms, but a ring is very important, because it means that the mushroom developed with a veil around its cap attached to its stem. Sometimes the ring can be thick and sometimes it is just a few darkened threads on the stem.
The veil itself or veil remnants can often be found in many mushrooms at least partially attached to the edge of the cap. Like the ring, sometimes it is thick and sometimes very thin like a spider’s web.
All four of these items are important when found. The most common found of these is a ring. But if you see a cup at the base of the stem and free gills, you can immediately place the mushroom into just a few groups: Amanita or Volvariella. Likewise, if you see a spiderweb-like veil, you can say (with a few exceptions) that the mushroom you have is a Cortinarius.
Another comment about rings and veils is that they are good places for spores to get trapped. So by looking closely at the ring or veil, you can often see a dusting of spores and save the trouble of making a spore print. The same is true about leaves under the caps as well as other mushrooms growing up beneath their older siblings.
The next group of features that you want to look for comes about as the mushroom is developing. When a mushroom starts growing it tries not to dry out, which is hard for the gills not to do because there is so much surface area. A lot of mushrooms deal with this problem by forming a veil. (This is a thin layer of tissue.) Sometimes this veil covers the entire mushroom (the universal veil) — sometimes just the cap (a partial veil), and sometimes there are several veils (or layers) that may cover both. When we find the mushroom it is older and in many cases the veil has broken or vanished. Some of the characters that it leaves behind are:
A volva or cup at the base of the stipe. This is where the veil that covered the entire mushroom was attached. It can have several shapes and often these shapes are important in identifying the mushroom to species.
Patches on the top of the cap are remnants of the veil that covered the cap. These can vanish quickly for some kinds of mushrooms and are not usually the main feature in identifying a mushroom, but can sometimes be very important.
A ring on the stem is an important piece of evidence. Like the patches, the weather can take these away rather quickly for some mushrooms, but a ring is very important, because it means that the mushroom developed with a veil around its cap attached to its stem. Sometimes the ring can be thick and sometimes it is just a few darkened threads on the stem.
The veil itself or veil remnants can often be found in many mushrooms at least partially attached to the edge of the cap. Like the ring, sometimes it is thick and sometimes very thin like a spider’s web.
All four of these items are important when found. The most common found of these is a ring. But if you see a cup at the base of the stem and free gills, you can immediately place the mushroom into just a few groups: Amanita or Volvariella. Likewise, if you see a spiderweb-like veil, you can say (with a few exceptions) that the mushroom you have is a Cortinarius.
Another comment about rings and veils is that they are good places for spores to get trapped. So by looking closely at the ring or veil, you can often see a dusting of spores and save the trouble of making a spore print. The same is true about leaves under the caps as well as other mushrooms growing up beneath their older siblings.
