Figure 1. Life cycle and the fruiting body of Volvariella volvacea.

A. Basidiospores of V. volvacea are in tetrad and attached to a basidium by four sterigmata. Mature basidiospore germinates under favorable conditions to form primary mycelium. Secondary mycelia form by the fusion of primary mycelia, and give rise to fruiting bodies which create another new generation of basidiospore. The fruiting mycelium has no clamp connections. The life cycle of V. volvacea in general is complete in 4–5 weeks time [11], [90]. B. “Button” stages in the development of V. volvacea, which are harvested and sold in the market. C. A mature fruiting body.