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The spore print of a mushroom
Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem , a cap , and gills on the unde...
 is an important diagnostic character in most handbooks for identifying mushrooms. It shows the color of the mushroom spores if viewed en masse. A spore print is made by placing the spore producing surface flat on a sheet of dark and white (or just white) paper
Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
 or on a sheet of clear, stiff plastic, which facilitates moving the spore print to a darker or lighter surface for improved contrast; for example, it is easier to determine whether the spore print is pure white or, rather, very slightly pigmented.






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Spore Print
The spore print of a mushroom
Mushroom

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have a stem , a cap , and gills on the unde...
 is an important diagnostic character in most handbooks for identifying mushrooms. It shows the color of the mushroom spores if viewed en masse. A spore print is made by placing the spore producing surface flat on a sheet of dark and white (or just white) paper
Paper

Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
 or on a sheet of clear, stiff plastic, which facilitates moving the spore print to a darker or lighter surface for improved contrast; for example, it is easier to determine whether the spore print is pure white or, rather, very slightly pigmented. The mushroom is left for several hours, often overnight, in this manner. When the mushroom is removed, the color of the spore
Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproduction structure that is adapted for biological dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions....
s should be visible. Mycologists
Mycology

Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, including their genetics and biochemistry properties, their taxonomy, and ethnomycology as a source for tinder, medicine , food , entheogens, as well as their dangers, such as poisoning or infection....
 often use glass slides, which allow for quick examination of spores under a microscope.

A mushroom cannot be identified from its spore print alone; the spore print is only one characteristic used in making a taxonomic determination.

Historically the classification of many families of fungi were based on spore colour, an example being Tricholomataceae
Tricholomataceae

The Tricholomataceae is a large family of mushrooms within the Agaricales. A classic "wastebasket taxon", the Tricholomataceae is inclusive of any white-, yellow-, or pink-spored genus in the Agaricales not already classified as belonging to the Amanitaceae, Lepiotaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Pluteaceae, or Entolomataceae....
 being a large family containing many fungi whose common factor was having white spores. However recent molecular research has shown some interesting relationships, with some fungi of disparate spore colours showing close relations.

See also

  • Mushroom hunting
    Mushroom hunting

    Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking and similar terms describe the activity of hunter-gatherer mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating....


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