Backyard Conservation | How to make a spore print

 

Do you ever go hiking and find mushrooms but you are afraid to do anything with them. You're not alone, many people are very cautious of mushrooms for good reason unless you know exactly what you are dealing with. Some mushrooms are edible and delicious and some.....you best not try to eat them. Here is a fun way to collect any mushroom you find without any side effects to your health. In fact, the only side effect would be some cool nature art that you collected yourself. If you can find out the species you have and write it down you can even make a collection and get quite good at identification of mushrooms. 

To create a spore print from gilled mushrooms, cut off the stem and place the cap, gills down, on a surface like aluminum foil or paper. Add a drop of water on the cap, cover it with a bowl or cup, and let it sit for 2 to 24 hours to allow spores to fall and form a unique print pattern, sometimes waiting the full 24 hours will not leave a distinct print but it is all in what you are wanting to do. I recommend collecting the mushrooms in the evening and doing the craft before bed, then waking up to the completed project. If only one mushroom is available, a portion of the cap can be used. To keep the cap attached to the stem, make a hole in an index card, place it on a paper cup, and slide the mushroom's stem through the hole until the cap rests on the card; then proceed with the previous steps. You can use a bowl and a larger piece of paper, too if you want something larger. When foraging, bring aluminum foil to collect mushrooms. Place the cap on the foil and wrap the mushroom; you'll have a spore print ready to examine when you return indoors.

When a porous mushroom has a stem and is tender and fresh, similar to a bolete, its spores are found within the pores located beneath the cap. To create a spore print, you can follow the same process as you would for a gilled mushroom. The spore deposit produced will reveal the size and shape of the pores. Obtaining spore prints from tough polypores on trees or logs can be challenging, especially since some take longer to mature and can survive post-spore dispersion. To collect spores effectively, wrap them in damp paper towels overnight before placing them on foil, paper, or glass for printing, ensuring the spore-bearing surface faces downward.

With oyster mushrooms and the like, you can start a print and then get a little air movement under it for the wind to create a swoop of spores. 

An exciting thing you will find is that spore prints can be many colors as spores are all different. 

To preserve your spore print, you can use either paper or foil. Simply give it a light spray with an artist's fixative, or you can also use hairspray for effective results!

Ferns are considerably harder to make a clear print from. You have to make sure you collect them at the right time. It helps if your paper is slightly damp or you can spray the fern lightly with a water mist spray and then lay it on the paper. This one doesn't have to take as long but for a clear print I recommend waiting at least a couple hours. Spray this with an artist spray or hairspray as well to secure the spores, these ones have a tendency to blow off very easily.