# Mushroom/fungus ID



## Ratmosphere (Aug 28, 2017)

Found this near some plants I'm cultivating. Anyone know the species?


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## schmiggle (Aug 28, 2017)

You won't be able to get a positive ID from pictures for a non-descript, brown mushroom. Did you check if it had gills or pores, whether or not it had a partial veil, how crowded the gills were? Is there any chance you have a sporeprint and a high-power (>1000x) microscope? Even then an ID would be challenging, but it might at least be feasible. I'm not being facetious, fyi.

Reactions: Like 1


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## The Snark (Aug 29, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> You won't be able to get a positive ID from pictures for a non-descript, brown mushroom. Did you check if it had gills or pores, whether or not it had a partial veil, how crowded the gills were? Is there any chance you have a sporeprint and a high-power (>1000x) microscope? Even then an ID would be challenging, but it might at least be feasible. I'm not being facetious, fyi.


How about a quick step by step guide to taking spore prints?


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## Ratmosphere (Aug 29, 2017)

Not sure man, I did not know it was that complex haha!


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## schmiggle (Aug 29, 2017)

The Snark said:


> How about a quick step by step guide to taking spore prints?


Sure.
1. Take the spore producing part of the fungus off of whatever non-spore-producing parts it may have (in this case, take the cap off the stem).
2. Put it on a sheet of paper colored to contrast with the spores.
3. Put a cup or something over the top to prevent the spores from going everywhere.
4. Wait.
Some species are harder to get prints of--small ones I've never been successful with, and coprinoids are a group that turn into what is essentially ink after a few hours, so there you need to go fast (although the ink stuff is full of intact spores).
With puffballs, you'll have to open it yourself, but there are so many spores that there won't be any need to wait (if you haven't seen them before you'll see as soon as you open one. They're great toys).
Hope this is helpful. Once you have the spore print, it's useful to record the color and make a microscopy slide.

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## The Snark (Aug 30, 2017)

Recalling a student at college. She took spore prints on various colored materials then took high res photos of them, blowing them up to poster sized. She then made them into a montage that covered a 20 foot long wall of the science building. Mind bending.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Ratmosphere (Sep 5, 2017)

Checked today and the fungus was totally gone! Wonder what happened to it.


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## schmiggle (Sep 5, 2017)

Mushrooms disappear pretty fast. They're not very resistant to rot.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Ratmosphere (Sep 5, 2017)

It was cool to see! Nature=amazing.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## spotropaicsav (Sep 6, 2017)

schmiggle said:


> Mushrooms disappear pretty fast. They're not very resistant to rot.


This stuck me as funny


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