WORKSHEET FOR IDENTIFYING MUSHROOMS program 2
20 points possible

Name:

Class:

How do you make a spore print? (3 pts)


Why do we take a spore print when we are trying to identify a mushroom? (2pts)

DEFINE THE FOLLOWING TERMS: (1pt each)

FREE GILLS

NOTCHED GILLS

ATTACHED GILLS

DECURRENT GILLS

CONK

VISCID

GLUTINOUS

Name one Ascomycete body form:

Name one Basidiomycete body form:

How do you check for staining reactions on mushrooms?

Why should you smell a mushroom you are trying to identify? (2pts)

Why is the mushroom's habitat important in identification? (2pts)

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LESSON ONE: HOW TO TAKE A SPORE PRINT

Taking a spore print is easy, fun and an important part of mushroom identification.

Mushroom guide books will list the spore color for the mushroom in question, and to be sure that you have the right species always take a spore print as part of your identification procedure (at least until you are positive of identification for the mushroom in question).

Even experts take spore prints of mushrooms they are trying to identify. Spore color remains fairly constant for each mushroom species and is not as affected by environmental changes as other mushroom features often are.

Many mushrooms that have a similar appearance can be distinguished by the color of their spores, so always check the spore color. This is especially important, of course, if the goal is a mushroom dish for dinner!

A spore print will reveal the color of the spores as a mass. Sometimes they are the same color as the mature gills and sometimes they are a different color.

To take a spore print, cut off the mushroom stem (stipe) and place the mushroom with the gills down on a piece of plain white paper. Always use white paper because dark paper will conceal some color variations in the spores. You can even use the back of this paper!

Cover the mushroom with a bowl so that air currents wont blow away the spores. In from 2 to 6 hours the spores fall out and leave a beautiful impression of the underside of the mushroom displaying the color of the spores.

It is always best to use fresh mushrooms that are not too dried out, or too old or too mushy to get a good spore print. If the spores are light in color, hold your paper at an angle to the light to better see the color.

Mushrooms that don't have gills, such as boletes and chanterelles, can also be tested in this way, but they are harder to lay out flat on the paper. You may wish to wrap oddly shaped mushrooms in a cone of paper or tin foil to take their spore print.

It takes some practice and experience to begin to know what color the spores are and how that color is described in field guides. If a guide book says the spores are pink, that doesn't mean the latest shade of a hot nail polish, but more like a salmon color. Compare the spores from a number of mushroom species to get a feel for the subtle color variations.

A fun activity is to make mushroom spore greeting cards. Use white construction paper cut to card size. Take the spore print as described above, then cover it with clear, self-adhesive plastic. Send a card to your local Mycological Association, or to the US Postal Service requesting them to commission an official US mushroom postage stamp!

Citizens Stamp Committee
USPS Room 4474E
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20260-2437

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