I found this but I think there is another description with photos somewhere if you do a search.
Bugs wrote:
Dead, dead easy (I can do it..)
Take stem off mushroom so the cap can lie flat.
Lay gills/tube side down on a piece of paper - if you have a rough idea whether the spores will be light or dark then you can choose contrasting paper (eg field mush dark, others pink or lilac and many white, so you might like a darker paper)
Leave for a couple of hours or overnight.
Lift up cap vertically so you don't smudge.
Voila, purty picture. If you have the equipment you could even look closely for the shape, I believe. It also helps with ID.
I'm not sure about the poinonousness though, and I think you can get a satisfactory print in a couple of ours but for a good impression you might want to go overnight.
Thank you all very much for that! It sounds a lot easier than I though it would be - I had envisiged myself in science goggles, wealding glass slides - lol! I can't wait to try it out now. I was considering getting my son a microscope for our computer - I saw one demonstrated at the darwen centre that looked pretty good and was quite reasonable - if identifying the spore shape helps too, I'm sure he wouldn't mind me 'borrowing' it!
Hi Vicky- your right, if you want to look at the spores you will need a microscope. Its the only reliable way to identify some species, although for general mushrooming you shouldn't need one- only if your 'hobby' starts to spiral out of control
You'll also need to be able to measure the spore size, so you'll need an eye piece with a gradient and slide with measurements on it for calibration.
Have fun,
truffle
Stewy
Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1453 Location: Berkshire
Posted: Thu Nov 12, 09 11:39 am Post subject:
Excellent site for all things fungi is WAB, check it out. Lots of people on there use scopes and are more than willing to help a novice.
I have to confess ,I can probably id about 600+ types of mushroom and consume about 80 kinds and I've never needed or used spore print.Its all to do with how you are brought on getting the knowledge.I imprint strong characteristics together with season, tree, soil type smell, cross section ,size etc.
I have to confess ,I can probably id about 600+ types of mushroom and consume about 80 kinds and I've never needed or used spore print.Its all to do with how you are brought on getting the knowledge.I imprint strong characteristics together with season, tree, soil type smell, cross section ,size etc.
A microscope is essential for some identification. It depends which species your looking at.
Stewy
Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 1453 Location: Berkshire
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 09 11:06 am Post subject:
I had a dabble a while ago............
I could make out the spore shape (just) but no detail of the basidia/cystidia? or whatever these technical terms are known as.....
In case anyone is curious, and because not everyone knows the words, the basidium is a structure bearing spores in a basidiomycete (like, most pored or gilled shrooms are, all the ones that aren't morels and the like). Its the bit the spores sit on in the gills or pores. The cystidia are cells between basidia, which also have diagnostic shape. Can be useful diagnostic features, as can the morphology of the spores themselves.
Wikipedia defines both terms well.
But for me the most useful characteristic that I always start with when ID'ing an unknown (assuming I don't have genus already from other combinations of features, so a real, genuine unknown) is spore print colour. Thats something especially useful when helping people ID specimens online.
doctoral
Joined: 19 Oct 2006 Posts: 697 Location: Now in Surrey ... I need a good avatar
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 09 11:19 pm Post subject:
Can I suggest thet half of teh spore print is done a mixture of black and white paper and the other half is done on a microscope slide for ID under a microscope.
wabbiter
Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Posts: 38 Location: lancashire
Posted: Tue Nov 24, 09 12:19 am Post subject:
once you've got your spore print,what do you compare it with to identify it? ....mack
A good book (like Roger Phillips) will tell you the spore colour as part of the description. He also tells you the shape of the spores should you want to do a bit of microscopy.
There are different styles of mushroom IDing, but if you're after advice online its good to get as many different pieces of information as possible. When you're out picking you've got smell, location, habitat, etc. that you don't have access to when helping to ID a specimen, but here in the virtual world we've got a picture and description. The colour of a spore print can be a vital piece of information when after advice on a mushroom. What you should do with the print is record the colour; is it white? cream? rusty? brown? pink? Tells you a heck of a lot, that does.
....mack
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