Life Cycle
This fungus, like most parasitic fungi, reproduces sexually. The fungi begin their life as spores, released into the environment by a mature mushroom. Armillaria solidipes has a white spore print. There are two types of mating types for spores (not male and female but similar in effect). The spores can be dispersed by environment factors such as wind or they can be redeposited by an animal. Once the spores are in a resting state, the single spore must come in contact with a spore of an opposite mating type and of the same species. If the single spore isolates are from different species, the colonies will not fuse together and they will remain separate. When two isolates of the same species but different mating types fuse together, they soon form coalesced colonies which become dark brown and flat. With this particular fungus it will produce mycelial cords also known as rhizomorphs. These rhizomorphs allow the fungus to obtain nutrients from long distances away. These are also the main factors to its pathogenicity. As the fruiting body continues to grow and obtaining nutrients, it forms into a mature mushroom. Armillaria solidipes in particular grows a wide and thin sheet-like plates radiating from the stem which is known as its gills. The gills hold the spores of a mature mushroom. This is stained white when seen as a spore print. Once spore formation is complete, this signifies a mature mushroom and now is able to spread its spores to start a new generation.
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