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The Lightning
Mycology Enthusiast


Registered: 09/06/11
Posts: 3,889
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Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification
#15268966 - 10/24/11 12:11 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Below is a begrudging 26 images of microscopy (Stropharia ambigua)
Without using a chemical to change the color, I've examined carefully the gill edges and tips looking for pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia, but as usual I'm perplexed.
I'm asking for some assistance if you can point out what we're seeing...

Magnification is either 150x or 600x.
Edited by The Lightning (10/24/11 01:00 AM)
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ToxicMan
Bite me, it's fun!


Registered: 06/28/02
Posts: 6,722
Loc: Aurora, Colorado
Last seen: 1 hour, 31 minutes
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: The Lightning]
#15270177 - 10/24/11 09:26 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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From those photos, it looks like you've chosen a mushroom where the cystidia are relatively difficult to see. In most mushrooms the cystidia protrude noticeably from the gill, farther than the basidia, and are relatively obvious. You also have to differentiate between cystidia and basidioles (immature basidia), which are often the most common cells projecting from the gill.
If you look carefully with a loupe or dissecting microscope you can usually tell if there are cheilocystidia or pleurocystidia. Getting the lighting right is generally the critical bit.
When making a microscope slide to look for cheilocystidia, be careful to not crush the gill piece very much, so that any cells projecting along the gill margin should actually be cheilocystidia.
Pleurocystidia are more difficult. If you can make gill cross sections only a cell or three thick you will be able to do them well. I haven't yet mastered the art of sectioning gills that thinly. When I need to see pleurocystidia I just generally use a crush mount and really go for it on the crushing part. Then look for cystidia that are far from where the gill margin was.
As for stains, my current favorite is cotton blue, but any general stain that stains everything seems to work well.
If you want to definitively separate basidioles, they have a lot more nuclear material, so use one of the stains that shows nuclei well to make them stand out. The ones lacking in nuclei should be cystidia.
Going back to your photos above, the last photo looks like it shows a mucronate cystidium alongside a basidium with spores. In general, mature cystidia should be morphologically distinct from basidia. The photo third from the bottom shows a basidiole in the process of maturing and developing its sterigmata.
A really good reference on this stuff is "How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus III: Microscopic Features" by David Largent, David Johnson, and Roy Watling (ISBN 0-916-422-09-7). It's still in print and inexpensive. I also highly recommend the rest of the series.
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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Ieponumos
Mycophile/Phytophile


Registered: 09/02/09
Posts: 4,850
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: ToxicMan]
#15270284 - 10/24/11 09:58 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
ToxicMan said: A really good reference on this stuff is "How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus III: Microscopic Features" by David Largent, David Johnson, and Roy Watling (ISBN 0-916-422-09-7). It's still in print and inexpensive. I also highly recommend the rest of the series.
It's still in print? The only copies I can find are 1st editions and the only "new" copy I can find costs $150.
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The Lightning
Mycology Enthusiast


Registered: 09/06/11
Posts: 3,889
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: ToxicMan]
#15270559 - 10/24/11 11:08 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thank you TM.
The book is available here.
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ToxicMan
Bite me, it's fun!


Registered: 06/28/02
Posts: 6,722
Loc: Aurora, Colorado
Last seen: 1 hour, 31 minutes
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: Ieponumos]
#15270583 - 10/24/11 11:15 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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A quick search on Google shows it available at Amazon for $21. They say it's in stock.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Identify-Mushrooms-Genus-III/dp/0916422097
-------------------- Happy mushrooming!
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Ieponumos
Mycophile/Phytophile


Registered: 09/02/09
Posts: 4,850
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: The Lightning]
#15270589 - 10/24/11 11:15 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
gsharpnolack said: Thank you TM.
The book is available here.
If you look at the "New" section, only two are available. One is $151.75 and the other $21.
Other than these two, all the other copies are original printings to my knowledge. Perhaps I'm wrong. Actually, I'd love to see a new printing and be corrected.
I got mine used from Amazon btw.
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The Lightning
Mycology Enthusiast


Registered: 09/06/11
Posts: 3,889
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: Ieponumos]
#15270596 - 10/24/11 11:18 AM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Don't go to the used or used but new section. Order directly from Amazon and its 21$.
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The Lightning
Mycology Enthusiast


Registered: 09/06/11
Posts: 3,889
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Re: Questions on pleurocystidia and cheilocystidia identification [Re: ToxicMan]
#15286528 - 10/27/11 02:42 PM (12 years, 3 months ago) |
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Today I pulled a Panaeolina foenesecii (not-confirmed) from a parking lot lawn.
I attempted to view pleurocystidia both from the gill face and from the gill edge.
Can you confirm that this is pluerocystidia while answering a question or two? Despite taking a mushroom slice to examine under the scope, it appears not every gill edge (nearly none of them) possess viewable pleurocystidia. Has this been your experience too? Do you normally prepare an outside slice and maybe a few more cuts deeper in, or should I stay with the outermost slice of the mushroom possible?
Images
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