A spore is a reproductive cell. Some plants make them but bacteria, algae, and fungi make them too. Spores are to mushrooms as seeds are to plants. Spores are how mushrooms reproduce and make more mushrooms.
The first step to making a spore print is collecting a mushroom.
You can collect from:
Your yard
Your friend’s yard (with permission)
Local city park.
You cannot collect from:
Someone else’s property without permission
State parks
Please follow the rules of where you collect and make sure it is okay to collect from the area you are visiting.
Bring something to carry your mushroom with, like a basket or paper bag. You don’t want them to get squished in your pocket! Only pick the mushroom if there are a lot around because they are important for the environment.
Do you know why mushrooms are important?
Mushrooms are decomposers which means that they break down dead materials such as fallen leaves and logs to make soil and nutrients that help other living things survive. Remember to wash your hands after handling mushrooms!
Once back home:
Gather jars or containers big enough to place over the mushrooms. Gather white and black paper. It is okay if you only have white paper, but some mushroom spores are white and therefore they won’t show up on white paper that well.
Take the stems off the mushrooms using your hands or scissors.
Place the mushrooms with the gills or pores facing down onto the paper. Then place the container over the mushroom to create an airtight seal.
Leave the mushrooms covered anywhere from a couple hours to overnight based on how fresh the mushrooms are.
After you let the mushrooms sit for a while, carefully pick up the containers and the mushrooms to reveal the spore print. Spore prints are fragile, so try to avoid touching it.
Resources for identifying mushrooms
iNaturalist app for recording observations on your phone or desktop. Their algorithm suggests possible species.
or pores facing down onto the paper. Then place the container over the mushroom to create an airtight seal. Leave the mushrooms covered anywhere from a couple hours to overnight based on how fresh the mushrooms are.
Cover the mushroom with a bowl (to stop it drying out and to reduce air currents that might spoil your print by blowing the tiny spores around). 3. Leave everything where it is for at least 2 hours or longer (overnight).
For white-spored mushrooms use black paper or clear plastic or glass. If you intend looking at the spores under a microscope, then whatever colour the spores are making the spore print on a microscope slide or (better still) a slide cover slip is ideal.
Then, to make a spore syringe, scrape the spore print into a glass with sterilized water and pull the solution into a syringe. After you have created a spore print, you can save it for later use, make a spore syringe, apply it to an agar solution or create a liquid culture.
Put a drop of water on the top of the cap to help release the spores. Cover the cap with a paper cup or glass and leave for 2-24 hours, depending on the humidity and the freshness of the mushroom. The spores will fall on the paper, foil or glass, making a spore print pattern.
Spore prints are usually white to cream, black, or shades of red, purple, or brown. The poisonous false parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites) has a green spore deposit.
Such a collection of Russula spore prints is more precise than any printed colour chart and can be very useful as the prints of many species are of subtly different shades. The colours will fade a little in a few years but can easily be replaced with new samples.
Fixative or Hairspray: To preserve the mushroom spore print, you can lightly spray it with an artist's fixative or hairspray. This will help protect the spores and prevent smudging. Hold the spray can at least 12 to 15 inches away from the print to ensure an even application.
5. Lift the jar and remove the mushroom to reveal your mushroom spore print! Allow it to air dry for two hours before storing it in a safe dry place. You can also fram the spore prints in a frame as art.
A spore print makes spores on fungi appear, it is useful for identification and study. Sometimes mushrooms can look exactly identical from the outside, but after doing a spore print, they can actually be a completely different species! If the color is useful for identifying a species.
Remove the stem of the specimen and place the cap of the mushroom on the spore print card with the gills (or pores) facing downward. Cover it or leave it undisturbed overnight and compare the colour of the resulting print with descriptions in your field guide.
If working with a reusable inoculation loop, heat the inoculation loop red hot in the flame of an alcohol lamp and let it cool down in your hand. Do not touch the spore print, inoculation loop or agar medium. Now rub the spore print until the whole loop has gathered some spores.
A Still Air Box is essentially a tightly sealed container, usually made of transparent plastic, that provides a controlled environment for handling fungi cultures. The box is designed to have minimal air movement inside, hence the name 'Still Air Box.
The spore prints are permanent. The illustra- tion shows a spore print from Gymnopilus junonius made in 1988 which still retains its colour. The spores can be sampled but this entails a degree of destruction. spores are known to be hard to germinate, only the lightest of spore prints will be required.
Spores may be collected from a spore print, which is a powdery imprint left on a surface by the spores of a mushroom. Spore prints are an important field mark for identifying mushrooms, as their colors can help distinguish between species. A mushroom releasing spores.
Introduction: My name is Lidia Grady, I am a thankful, fine, glamorous, lucky, lively, pleasant, shiny person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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