mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

, a lamella (: lamellae), or gill, is a papery

hymenophore A hymenophore refers to the hymenium-bearing structure of a fungal fruiting body. Hymenophores can be smooth surfaces, lamellae, folds, tubes, or teeth. The term was coined by Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an ...

rib under the cap of some

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

species, most often

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungal fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. It is a type of mushroom (or toadstool) ...

s. The gills are used by the mushrooms as a means of spore dispersal, and are important for species identification. The attachment of the gills to the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

is classified based on the shape of the gills when viewed from the side, while color, crowding and the shape of individual gills can also be important features. Additionally, gills can have distinctive

microscopic The microscopic scale () is the scale of objects and events smaller than those that can easily be seen by the naked eye, requiring a lens or microscope to see them clearly. In physics, the microscopic scale is sometimes regarded as the scale betwe ...

or macroscopic features. For instance, ''

Lactarius ''Lactarius'' is a genus of mushroom-producing, ectomycorrhizal fungi, containing several Edible mushroom, edible species. The species of the genus, common name, commonly known as milk-caps, are characterized by the milky fluid ("latex") they ex ...

'' species typically seep

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

from their gills. It was originally believed that all gilled fungi were

Agaricales The Agaricales are an order (biology), order of fungi in the division (mycology), division Basidiomycota. As originally conceived, the order contained all the agarics (gilled mushrooms), but subsequent research has shown that not all agarics are ...

, but as fungi were studied in more detail, some gilled species were demonstrated not to be. It is now clear that this is a case of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

(i.e. gill-like structures evolved separately) rather than being an anatomic feature that evolved only once. The apparent reason that various

basidiomycetes Basidiomycota () is one of two large division (mycology), divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. Mor ...

have evolved gills is that it is the most effective means of increasing the ratio of surface area to mass, which increases the potential for spore production and dispersal. Other groups of fungi to bear gills include: * The genera '' Russula'' and ''

'' of the

Russulales The Russulales are an order of the Agaricomycetes, (which include the agaric genera '' Russula'' and ''Lactarius'' and their polyporoid and corticioid relatives). According to the ''Dictionary of the Fungi'' (10th edition, 2008), the order con ...

. * Several genera in the

Boletales The Boletales are an order of Agaricomycetes containing over 1300 species with a diverse array of fruiting body types. The boletes are the best known members of this group, and until recently, the Boletales were thought to only contain boletes. ...

, including ''

Gomphidius ''Gomphidius'' is a genus of mushrooms, commonly known as spike-caps, that are members of the Boletales (suborder (biology), suborder Suillineae), or pored fungi. They appear to have gill-like structures which resemble those of Agaricales, agaric ...

'' and ''

Chroogomphus ''Chroogomphus'' is a genus of mushrooms commonly known as pine-spikes or spike-caps based on their shape and because they are often found growing in association with pine trees. The genus is distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere includ ...

'' as well as ''

Tapinella atrotomentosa ''Tapinella atrotomentosa'', commonly known as the velvet roll-rim or velvet-footed tap, is a species of fungus in the family Tapinellaceae. Although it has gills, it is a member of the pored mushroom order Boletales. August Batsch described ...

'' (which has been traditionally named '' Paxillus atrotomentosus'') and other species in that genus, the False chanterelle ('' Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca''). * Such polypore-like fungi such as '' d aedaleopsis confragosa'', '' Lenzites betulina'' and '' Gloeophyllum sepiarium''. Trompetenpfifferling Teufelskanzel

Members of the two related genera of chanterelles, '' Cantharellus'' and '' Craterellus'', have rudimentary lamellar structures which are sometimes referred to as "false gills". They are distinguished from "true gills" because the structure of the fertile surface ("

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

") continues uninterrupted over the gill edge, so they are little more than folds, wrinkles or veins. The genus '' Gomphus'' also has false gills. These primitive lamellae indicate how the evolution towards true gills probably happened. Lamellula (: lamellulae) are partial gills that do not reach the stipe.

Classification

Morphologically, gills are classified according to their attachment to the stipe:

image:Adnate_gills_icon2.svg, Adnate image:Adnexed_gills_icon2.svg, Adnexed image:Decurrent_gills_icon2.svg, Decurrent image:Emarginate_gills_icon2.svg, Emarginate image:Free_gills_icon2.svg, Free image:Seceding gills icon2.svg, Seceding image:Sinuate gills icon2.svg, Sinuate image:Subdecurrent gills icon2.svg, Subdecurrent

References

External links

IMA Mycological Glossary: Gill
{{Fungus structure Fungal morphology and anatomy ja:キノコの部位#ひだ