Mushroom Spore Printing
2009 June 2
This spring we have been studying mushrooms (mycology). Our favorite activity with mushrooms is making spore prints. I can’t believe how easy it is to do.
Warning! You obviously want to watch your little ones around mushrooms! Many different kinds of mushrooms are poisonous and can make you very sick. When handling mushrooms please be sure to wash your hands when you are through.
Pick your mushroom and remove the stem so your cap will lay flat. Place the cap on your paper of choice. The mushrooms we found leave dark brown spores so we used a creamy colored paper. Some mushrooms leave white spores, so the color of paper you use is important.
Place a glass cup or bowl over the caps.
Let the caps sit under the glass for about an hour. Tick Tock, Tick Tock…….this part is very hard for Araina!
After an hour, lift the glass and the cap, you should have a spore print. You can make more with the same cap while it is still fresh.
Be careful, the spores will smear! We learned this the hard way. A touch of hairspray or spray adhesive should preserve the prints.
Finding where the spores are located on the mushrooms is half the fun. Morels, for example carry their spores on the outside; slice in half and place the cap on its side to make a print.
Don’t bother using those cute button mushrooms from the market; they just are not fresh enough to leave the spore prints.
We felt these beauties were frameable!
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Thank you for teaching me how to do spore prints! Beth
We did this over the weekend! Thanks for the idea. We've had a ton of rain and therefore a ton of mushrooms to pick.
That's so fun and beautiful! I love seeing Araina waiting- even if it was hard for her. She's so cute. We had mushrooms last night and Lily spend a great deal of time just exploring one of them. We'll have to try this.
HA!! Amanda you sound just like my mother, she would sooooo agree with you!
Lisa
All I have to say is if I find a morel, I'm eating it! To heck with the spore prints
This is a clever idea. I had no idea that the mushrooms would leave an impression on the paper with no ink or paint.
Truly amazing!!
Wow, this is so cool! Thanks for sharing, I’ll be linking.
oh yay, i’ve been wanting to try this again! i think the first time i didn’t realize that you needed to cover the mushroom, so it was a bit disappointing…
on we have to do this! how cool are those patterns?! anyhow, i wanted to let you know that you have been tagged over at blog, only if you want of course!
Cute frame, and picture! I always wondered how to do this…thank you for sharing. Now, I’m wanting morels with my dinner; those are my favorite!
What a fun idea. The stick frame it totally cool!!
They’re so pretty!
Brilliant! do you have morels?? They are my favorite! Especially freshly foraged!
It is wonderful to see how you did this. I have tried before and perhaps I used the wrong color of paper for the shrooms I was doing and saw very little. You give me inspiration to try again and again. I love little wild mushrooms!
We’ve done that before too. So fun to see the intricate details. Love the shot of Araina patiently waiting.
Louise, I think a touch of hairspray would preserve them.
Lisa
The picture of Araina waiting is so cute.
I love the stick frame.
How fun! ‘fraid there aren’t many mushrooms around us in the desert but we’ll have to try this when we go back east to visit.
Oh I love that-it may even be worth getting over my fear of wild mushrooms!
I have been wanting to do this for ages- how are you going to preserve them- or won’t you worry.
Cute ideas!
I had no idea it was that easy. I really like the stick picture frame with the mushroom prints!