Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

MUSHROOMS
or stump. Sometimes the stems are of solid flesh all the
way through. Others are hollow, like a piece of rubber
tubing. The stem is often brittle and breaks easily.
In other plants it is impossible to divide it evenly in
breaking.
When the plant is young, the edge of the cap lies
Parts of a Mushroom. 1, The Cap or Pileus;
2, The Gills Where Veil is Torn; 3, The
Veil; 4, Part of Veil Remaining on Stem.
This Forms the Ring or Annulus; 5, The
Stem, or Stipe; 6, The Volva or Cup.
close to the stem.
~" 1 In some mush-
rooms, the cap
spreads out with-
out ever being fas-
tened to the stipe.
In others, threads
grow from the
edge of the cap
and from the outer
layer of the stem.
These interlace
and form a delicate
veil which
closes the space
between the cap
and stipe. The
veil remains firm for a while but is finally torn by the
opening cap. Its remnants are left for a time as a
ring on the upper part of the stem, or else parts of it
hang in flakes from the edge of the cap.
Examine a mushroom of this kind, and you will see
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