Looking for website links or downloadable cheat sheets to help identify fungi spores.
I use https://www.mushroomexpert.com/microscope.html#spores but it contains a limited selection.
https://alabamamushroomsociety.org/Identification has a nice chart for latin colors which is very useful, but nothing for shapes.
Basically the purpose of this thread is to share info & resources to help us decipher fungi spores.
How to Identify Mushrooms to Genus III: Microscopic Features, Largent
https://www.amazon.com/How-Identify-Mushrooms-Genus-III/dp/0916422097
Thank you @henryy1355. I just downloaded a free pdf of it, which is scanned double-pages totaling 84.
Figures 30-32 are good for spore ornamentation and Figures 33-36 are useful for spore shapes.
It was published in 1977 and quite a number of genus/species references are outdated. Honestly, I am looking for something a bit more recent. https://www.mushroomexpert.com/microscope.html#spores is really good but a bit limited.
So if a more comprehensive reference is not available, I will likely create a custom sheet that contains more info.
I think there are three main categories of information we need when analyzing a fungi spore.
Shape of a spore
Ornamentation of a spore
Chemical reaction of a spore in KOH, FeSO4, NH3, H20, or Melzer’s
Here is one resource that has a good depiction for the first two groups.
Here is a good presentation. About fungi spores as allergens but has a lot of examples.
https://gzahn.github.io › mycology › media › Spore_morphology_Presentation.pdf
and a good protocol
This is a really good source, I like it.
Almost every reputable fungi identification literature mentions Melzer’s reagent. It is a staining solution used for identifying fungi by observing how fungal tissues, particularly spores, react to its components.
Spores are termed:
Amyloid if they turn a blue-black color. (Russula, Lactarius, some Mycena)
Dextrinoid if they turn a reddish-brown color. (Many Agaricus, Lepiota)
Inamyloid (or negative) if they merely turn yellowish or do not change at all. (Majority of fungi)
It is very difficult if not impossible to obtain Melzer’s reagent for the average citizen scientist because it contains chloral hydrate, which is a schedule IV controlled substance. It can be purchased in many countries, but not in the USA.
Schedule IV controlled substances are drugs with a low potential for abuse and a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Examples include drugs like benzodiazepines (such as lorazepam and diazepam), some sedatives, and weight-loss drugs like phentermine.
Melzer’s reagent could be made by an amateur mycologist if one can obtain chloral hydrate. Recipe as follows:
20ml Distilled water
0.5g Iodine
1.5g Potassium iodide
20g Chloral Hydrate
Anyone know how to obtain Melzer’s reagent or Chloral Hydrate through logical & civil means or whether an effective replacement has been identified? Rumors mention Lugol’s solution or Visikol, but there are bleak reviews for their performance.
There is also Lugol’s Solution, another iodine based reagent without the chloral hydrate. Some prefer it for ascomycetes. It is readily available online.
At a couple of recent mushroom shows, I approached some fungi book authors and chatted about why they still refer to Melzer’s reagent rather than the readily available alternatives. They laughed. Apparently Melzer’s is the legend.
Doesn’t seem like Melzer’s isn’t going away soon. So now the goal is to figure out how to get it. Schedule IV is a pretty weak class. I wonder if an application could be made to someone.
“Hello Federal Agency or State Department, I am an amateur mycologist from x. I would like to apply for a permit to obtain just a tiny 20g of Chloral Hydrate to help me identify fungi.”
A summarized extract from Pat O’Reilly’s 450-page book, “Fascinated by Fungi”. The page has a good collage of tips, methods, chemicals, and a few nice photos depicting what use of stains does.
Did you know that there is a dedicated term for the process of taking photographs of microscopic subjects through a microscope? It’s called “Photomicography“.