Spore prints are invaluable in determining specimen identification. With a little patience and some practice beautiful prints can be created and kept.
To make a spore print, place a fully expanded mushroom cap gills down a piece of white paper. It is best to choose dark-spored mushrooms for printing on white paper and light-spored ones for printing on dark paper. The mushroom cap should be removed from the stalk and covered by an inverted bowl to retain moisture. Leave undisturbed overnight. For interesting textures and designs use different species on the same sheet, overlap some or use only partial caps for others. To mount spray with a clear fixative and allow to dry.
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