Abstract
Meiosis in three "species" of Pleurotus (Pleurotus eryngii, Pleurotus ferulae, Pleurotus nebrodensis) from umbellifers of different geographic origins proceeds principally in an orthodox manner. It is followed by a postmeiotic mitosis, but the basidiospores formed are mostly uninucleate. Three-dimensional reconstructions from serial sections of pachytene synaptonemal complexes make it possible to determine that the chromosome number is different in each "species," and in P. eryngii, according to the geographic origin.