Pune Alive : Mushroom Diversity 2000

Study Extent

Fungi samples were collected from the study areas from Pune city, Maharashtra during monsoon in 1999 and 2000.

Sampling

Fungi samples were collected with the help of scalpel from the soil or the substrate. General habit and habitat, color, smell (if any), host plant, surrounding vegetation etc. were noted down in the field. The mushrooms were photographed prior to picking and then were kept in a paper bag carefully with a label showing the collection number, locality and date on the bag. Few of the specimens were oven dried at 60°C temperature. The puffballs were also dried and stinkhorns were wet preserved in 2-5% formalin solution.

Method steps

1. Fungi samples were collected from study areas in Pune during monsoon in 1999-2000. Samples were photographed prior to picking and kept in a paper bag with a label mentioning collection number, locality and date of collection. Few specimens were dried in the oven at 60°C temperature. Few were wet preserved in 2-5% formalin solution. Thin sections of fresh specimens were observed under the microscope after staining with Phloxin and cotton blue stain and mounting in the lactophenol. The polypore sections were first treated with 5% KOH solution and then mounted in lactophenol on a clean glass slide with a cover glass after intensive teasing and staining with cotton blue. As for puffballs, the fruiting body was opened to view the number of peridium layers, presence or absence of mucilage sheath and color of the gliba. Thin sections of gliba, peridium were mounted in lactophenol after staining the section in cotton blue. Various structures seen in the section were noted down systematically and were used along with the spore print for identification, using the standard keys

1. Fungi
   common name: Mushroom rank: kingdom

Pune city, Maharashtra, India