mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogen ...

, a stipe () is the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

of a

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile

hyphal A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

tissue. In many instances, however, the fertile hymenium extends down the stipe some distance. Fungi that have stipes are said to be stipitate. The evolutionary benefit of a stipe is generally considered to be in mediating

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

dispersal. An elevated mushroom will more easily release its spores into wind currents or onto passing animals. Nevertheless, many mushrooms do not have stipes, including

cup fungi The Pezizaceae (commonly referred to as cup fungi) are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota which produce mushrooms that tend to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surface of the fruit body (mushroom). The cup shape ty ...

puffball Puffballs are a type of fungus featuring a ball-shaped fruit body that bursts on impact, releasing a cloud of dust-like spores when mature. Puffballs belong to the division Basidiomycota and encompass several genera, including '' Calvatia'', '' ...

s, earthstars, some

polypore Polypores are a group of fungi that form large fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside (see Delimitation for exceptions). They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes-like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polyp ...

jelly fungi Jelly fungi are a paraphyletic group of several heterobasidiomycete fungal orders from different classes of the subphylum Agaricomycotina: Tremellales, Dacrymycetales, Auriculariales and Sebacinales. These fungi are so named because their ...

, ergots, and smuts. It is often the case that features of the stipe are required to make a positive identification of a mushroom. Such distinguishing characters include: # the texture of the stipe (fibrous, brittle, chalky, leathery, firm, etc.) # whether it has remains of a

partial veil In mycology, a partial veil (also called an inner veil, to differentiate it from the "outer", or universal veil) is a temporary structure of tissue found on the fruiting bodies of some basidiomycete fungi, typically agarics. Its role is to isola ...

(such as an annulus or cortina) or

universal veil In mycology, a universal veil is a temporary membranous tissue that fully envelops immature fruiting bodies of certain gilled mushrooms. The developing Caesar's mushroom (''Amanita caesarea''), for example, which may resemble a small white sphe ...

( volva) # whether the stipes of many mushrooms fuse at their base # its general size and shape # whether the stipe extends underground in a root-like structure (a rhizome) When collecting mushrooms for identification it is critical to maintain all these characters intact by digging the mushroom out of the soil, rather than cutting it off mid-stipe.

Drawings

References

Fungal morphology and anatomy {{Agaricomycetes-stub ja:キノコの部位#柄