# Pileipellis

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{{Short description|Mushroom cap cuticle}}
[[File:Russula ochroleuca 121441.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The cuticle of some mushrooms, such as ''[Russula ochroleuca](/source/Russula_ochroleuca)'' shown here, can be peeled from the cap, and may be useful as an identification feature.]]

The '''pileipellis''' is the uppermost layer of [hyphae](/source/hyphae) in the [pileus](/source/pileus_(mycology)) of a [fungal](/source/fungal) [fruit body](/source/basidiocarp). It covers the [trama](/source/trama_(mycology)), the fleshy tissue of the fruit body. The pileipellis is more or less synonymous with the '''cuticle''', but the cuticle generally describes this layer as a macroscopic feature, while pileipellis refers to this structure as a microscopic layer. Pileipellis type is an important character in the identification of fungi. Pileipellis types include the '''cutis''', '''trichoderm''', '''epithelium''', and '''hymeniderm''' types.

==Types==
===Cutis===
A cutis is a type of pileipellis characterized by hyphae that are repent, that is, that run parallel to the pileus surface. In an ixocutis, the hyphae are gelatinous.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

===Trichoderm===
In a trichoderm, the outermost hyphae emerge roughly parallel, like hairs, perpendicular to the cap surface.<ref name=court1999/><ref name=Moser/>  The prefix "tricho-" comes from a Greek word for "hair". In an ixotrichodermium, the outermost hyphae are gelatinous.

===Epithelium===
An epithelium is a pileipellis consisting of rounded cells in multiple layers, often connected in chains, and sometimes breaking off.<ref name=Moser/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~idakees/Glossary.htm |title=Glossary of ''Coprinus'' site of Kees Uljé |access-date=2007-08-15 |archive-date=2008-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410001133/http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~idakees/Glossary.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Hymeniderm===
Also called hymeniform, or palisade at times.  When viewed from above, a hymeniderm or "cellular cuticle" appears to be paved with roughly circular polygonal elements (similar to the fertile cells of the actual [hymenium](/source/hymenium) on the gills).  The elements may be globular cells or may be the tips of hyphae extending deeper into the surface.<ref name=court1999>Régis Courtecuisse : "Mushrooms of Britain & Europe" (Harper Collins 1999).  {{ISBN|0-00-220012-0}} - see Glossary.</ref><ref name=Moser>Meinhard Moser, translated by Simon Plant: ''Keys to Agarics and Boleti'' (Roger Phillips 1983)  {{ISBN|0-9508486-0-3}} - see Technical  Glossary.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.mushroomthejournal.com/greatlakesdata/Terms/pilei476.html IMA Mycological Glossary: Pileipellis]

Category:Fungal morphology and anatomy

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pileipellis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileipellis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileipellis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.