 The spores are spherical or nearly so , reddish @-@ brown , thick @-@ walled and <unk> ( covered with warts and spines ) . The spores ' dimensions are 7 – 11 µm ; the warts are about 1 µm long . The spores are non @-@ amyloid , and will not stain with iodine from Melzer 's reagent . The use of scanning electron microscopy has shown that the spines are 0 @.@ 90 – 1 @.@ 45 µm long , rounded at the tip , narrow , tapered , and sometime joined together at the top . The capillitia ( masses of thread @-@ like sterile fibers dispersed among the spores ) are branched , 3 @.@ 5 – 6 @.@ 5 µm in diameter , and hyaline ( translucent ) . The basidia ( spore @-@ bearing cells ) are <unk> to eight @-@ spored , with very short sterigmata . The basidia are arranged in long strings of clusters ; individual basidia measure 11 – 15 by 18 – 24 µm . The threads of the capillitia arise from the inner surface of the peridium , and are thick @-@ walled , long , interwoven , and branched , measuring 3 – 5 @.@ 5 µm thick . The exoperidium ( the outer layer of tissue , comprising the rays ) is made of four distinct layers of tissue : the mycelial layer contains branched hyphae that are 4 – 6 μm in diameter ; the hyphae of the fibrous layer are 6 – 8 μm diameter and branched ; the <unk> @-@ type layer has branched hyphae of 3 – 4 μm diameter ; the soft layer contains hyphae that are 3 – 6 μm in diameter . 
