Gill attachement - I.D. help please

[Mrs Mushroom]

Hi I am trying to get to grips with the different types of gill attachment for help with identification.

I believe this to be Tricholoma from it's appearance ref: Roger Phillips Mushrooms p105a & b & very possibly Calocype gambosa - St George's Mushroom?




My very first mushroom book was little Collins Gem Guide...now very well thumbed This book gives an I.D. key using shape, spore bearing surface, spore print colour & gill attachment amongst other identifying factors e.g. habitat 7 texture.

So am I right in believing these gills are sinuate and not free or adnexed? The Collins book gives simple line diagrams of the different attachments but no descriptions so I have never had the confidence to use gill attachment as a form of I.D.
As SheffieldLass pointed out this can be vital in identification & thank you to her for her explanations so far. If I can get to know the different types one by one it will help me so much!

Thank you in advance!

[Lancashire Lad]

Yes, I'd say these were sinuate. (i.e. they appear to have a very small curve back down onto the stipe just at the point of attachment).

Sinuate is often taken to be synonymous with emarginate or notched, although the definitions are slightly different: -

Adnate - gills broadly attached/joined to stipe for most of their depth; proximal end not notched.

Adnexed - gills narrowly attached/tapering toward stem so that their attachment is almost free.

Decurrent - gills descending markedly down stem (subdecurrent - gills descending down stem only a short distance).

Emarginate/Notched - gills notched just before attaching to the stem.

Free – gills not attached to stem (remote - ending at some distance from stem).

Seceding – gills at first attached to the stem but later breaking away from it.

Sinuate - gills having a concave indentation before attaching to the stem.

This page gives some nice info: -
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sou...iLd6l9tg0avAjA



Regards,
Mike.

[hillrover]

Thanks for the link, Mike. I found that more useful than the books I own.

Christine