VOLVARIELLA VOLVACEA AND ITS LIFE HISTORY

Abstract

Volvariella volvacea (Bull. ex Fr.) Sing. is a large pileate edible fungus of the tropics and sub‐tropics. It has two kinds of spores, one being the sexual basidiospores in tetrads and the other the asexual chlamydospores. Both monosporous and vegetative hyphae are multinucleate, and there are no clamp connections. Fifty monospores were isolated from two fruiting bodies, and were cultivated individually with four replicates under controlled laboratory conditions. On the average, 76% of the monosporous progenies were fertile. The fungus is homothallic. The development and life cycle of the fungus are described. The possible mechanisms of homothallism are also discussed.