Spore Prints

• • A mature mushroom with visible gills, pores, or teeth under the cap. These are the parts that produce the spores. You can find mushrooms in the wild or buy them from a store. Just make sure they are fresh and not rotten.

  • A piece of paper, foil, glass, or plastic that is either white or black. The colour should contrast with the colour of the spores, so you can see them clearly. For example, if your mushroom has white spores, use a black surface. If it has black spores, use a white surface.

  • A glass or a bowl to cover the mushroom cap. This will keep the spores from flying away and create a humid environment for them to fall.

• • Cut off the stem of the mushroom as close to the cap as possible. You don’t need the stem for the spore print.

  • Place the cap on the paper or other surface with the gills, pores, or teeth facing down. Make sure there is enough space around the cap for the spores to fall.

  • Cover the cap with a glass or a bowl. Don’t touch or move the cap until you are ready to check the spore print.

  • Leave the cap undisturbed for several hours or overnight. The longer you leave it, the more spores will fall and the clearer the print will be.

  • Carefully remove the glass or bowl and lift the cap. You should see a pattern of spores on the paper or other surface. This is your spore print. You can spray it with clear varnish or hairspray to preserve it if you want to keep it.

To compare the spore print, you need to know what kind of mushroom you have and what its spore colour and shape are. You can use a field guide or a website that describes different mushroom species and their characteristics. You can also use a microscope to look at the spores more closely if you have one.

• Here are some tips on how to compare the spore print:

  • Compare the colour of your spore print with the colour given on Google. Some common spore colours are white, cream, yellow, pink, brown, purple-brown, black, and green.

  • Compare the shape of your spore print with the shape given on Google. Some common spore shapes are round, oval, elliptical, kidney-shaped, heart-shaped, spindle-shaped, and star-shaped.

  • If you have a microscope, examine your spore print under it. You can use a scalpel or a needle to scrape off some spores from your paper or other surface and place them on a slide with a drop of water or oil. Look for details such as texture, ornamentation, and wall thickness of the spores.