Spore Prints - What to do ?

[Kevbert]

Hi.
I'm a newbee to fungi identification. What's the best way to make spore prints ? Looking at some of the threads here suggest that I should take the fungus home and it should take at least 24 hours to make the print. Like the idea of using a white tile with a drilled hole in it. What's the best way of transporting the fungus (wrap in wet tissue or carry dry ?).
Thanks in advance.

[Lancashire Lad]

It would be best to do the spore print onto half white/half black paper if you can source some, or use two sheets, with the fungus placed half over each colour.

There are several suggested ways of doing the print, but I usually just cut the stipe off, and rest the cap directly on the paper.

Alternatively, if you are intending doing any spore microscopy, just do the spore print directly onto a glass microscope slide.

The length of time needed can be as little as an hour, or anything up to a day, depending on species & condition of the particular specimen.

Determination of colour can be somewhat subjective - and the choice of colour "names" used by the various authorities leaves something to be desired.

The "Flora Of British Fungi Fungi Colour Identification Chart" is available from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinbugh, and is a useful aid.

Definitely best to carry the fungi dry, ideally with each fungus species in a separate paper bag.

Plastic pots and bags aren't recommended as they encourage the fungi to "sweat" which can rapidly result in deterioration. - Although to be honest, I don't personally know of anyone who doesn't use plastic containers these days.

Regards,
Mike.

[Kevbert]

Thanks Lancashire Lad for the very useful information.

[JAJ]

Good question .. and nice easy to follow reply. Thanks both

Newbie also, but you got me on the slides Mike. been thinking about this last few days, (just too lazy to google it)

Question 1 : Can you use a normal microscope?
(I have x2 old slide microscopes from c1950/60 and c1980s in the attic)

Question 2 : Is it possible to take spore samples on slides without destroying the specimen? (i.e. hold slide under cap and tap?)

I guess the best way to find out is to try/experiment

Thanks in advance. J

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by Kevbert

Hi.
What's the best way of transporting the fungus (wrap in wet tissue or carry dry ?).
Thanks in advance.

I've at last found a solution that suits me well. Many people use those DIY plastic divided boxes that you can get for keeping your screw collections in, but I never found one that was the right size to fit easily in my rucksack or else they weren't durable enough. I'd been using old ice cream tubs that stack nicely in my rucksac, but the fungi did get all jumbled up and the spores ended up all over the other fungi, which could get a bit confusing at times. I recently discovered some plastic 'shorts' glasses in Sainsburys. They fit very nicely inside my tubs, and I can fit the smaller fungi into them. As my tubs are hexagonal, there are spaces between the glasses where I can also put fungi, and they are kept apart from each other. Also if I get a bigger one I can remove as many of the glasses as necessary to make space. And the glasses are durable, and I can easily transfer them with contents into another container to go into the fridge whilst they wait for id, and they are easily washable. And they are very cheap too, and they stack, and they are light ... perfect solution for me.

Melanie

[Adam Cheeseman]

I cut the stem off as close to the cap as possible, place it on a piece of pale coloured paper (assuming I know roughly what colour the spores should be) and then I cover the cap with a large bowl.

Cheers,

Adam

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by JAJ

Good question .. and nice easy to follow reply. Thanks both

Newbie also, but you got me on the slides Mike. been thinking about this last few days, (just too lazy to google it)

Question 1 : Can you use a normal microscope?
(I have x2 old slide microscopes from c1950/60 and c1980s in the attic)

Question 2 : Is it possible to take spore samples on slides without destroying the specimen? (i.e. hold slide under cap and tap?)

I guess the best way to find out is to try/experiment

Thanks in advance. J

this begs a few questions:

what's a normal microscope? tell us what you have and we'll be able to advise . . .

question 2 is a good one . . . . no, you don't 'tap' anything; you leave the cap, gills down for as long as it takes (the spores drop as they ripen) keeping the cap damp with a small drop of water from time to time may help; you talk about "destroying the specimen" this highlights something I had drummed into me from an early stage in my mycological journey
one fungus is not a fungus which is a cryptic way of saying that really you need several fruitbodies (ideally at different stages of development) if you're hoping to identify something unfamiliar - and yes one of them will often get, if not destroyed, messed about a bit (cap structure checked/gill face and gill edge checked/and so on) and at the end it's often worth drying and hanging on to your specimens (with all the data on the packet

you might not be doing microscopy now - but in the future all the micro-characters will still be preserved, and you can cross-reference the specimen(s) with your photographs - in the past I remember doing quick watercolour/coloured pencil sketches (what fun that was!)

further advice on a lot of this can be given when requested - we've all been there, trust me . . . . .

best

Chris

[waynehicks1]

I began by using normal white paper until I started to get some white spore prints.....

Now, when I do get round to taking a spore print, I use blue paper so that I can see all the spore patterns, even the white ones Like Adam, I place a bowl over the specimen, to keep it from drying out.

Good luck

Wayne

[Kevbert]

Originally Posted by Chris Yeates

At the end it's often worth drying and hanging on to your specimens (with all the data on the packet

you might not be doing microscopy now - but in the future all the micro-characters will still be preserved, and you can cross-reference the specimen(s) with your photographs - in the past I remember doing quick watercolour/coloured pencil sketches (what fun that was!)

further advice on a lot of this can be given when requested - we've all been there, trust me . . . . .

best

Chris

Thanks Chris. A few years ago I saw an article that suggested you could dry and preserve specimens in a box of fine dry sand. Would this cause problems even if I put the fungi in individual paper bags first?

[Chris Yeates]

Originally Posted by Kevbert

Thanks Chris. A few years ago I saw an article that suggested you could dry and preserve specimens in a box of fine dry sand. Would this cause problems even if I put the fungi in individual paper bags first?

I wouldn't recommend sand - fine or not - unless you have an infinite supply of cover-slips to crack

make sure the specimens are not too large - you can dry them as slices and you don't necessarily need the whole of the fruitbody (for example with Ganodermas often all you need is a leaf from underneath with spores on - you don't need the fungus at all); for a hint on drying see: Fungi Transportation & Microscope Advice Please?

Chris