Mantle preparations should be done according to the descriptions published by Agerer (1991): Methods in Microbiology 23: 25-73. The mantle pieces should be oriented with the outer side up.With some experience it is easy to distinguish between inner mantle and outer mantle surface. Hints for an outer mantle surface are a convex side or/and pseudoparenchymatous structure or/and soil particles or/and crystals or/and emanating elements or/and dark cell walls. Hints for an inner mantle surface: concave side or/and plectenchymatous structure or/and root cell wall remnants (A).
Cystidia are generally regarded as hyphae of definite or/and rather short length having very distinct and characteristic shapes, occurring on the mantle surface or on rhizomorphs (B).
 A |
 B |