Scanning Electron Microscopy of Mushroom Spores

Ever taken a spore print? That dust that helps you identify a mushroom is pretty amazing stuff. Here are some closeups.

These images were kindly provided by Sam Ristich. (His annotations are included.)

The 3" x 5" grayscale prints were scanned in on a flatbed scanner, and I did a minimum of cropping and image manipulation before scaling the images for .gif and .jpeg compression and saving.

Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version.

Thumbnail SEM Strobilomyces floccopus (U. New Hampshire)

Thumbnail SEM Clitopilus prunulus (U. New Hampshire)

Thumbnail SEM Psathyralla velutina (1000 X on 3"x5") (large pore; grenade-like)

Thumbnail SEM Sepedonium brunneum - an imperfect stage (1700 X)

Thumbnail SEM Gyromitra korfii (1000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Entoloma salmoneum (5000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Entoloma sp. (many of these have collapsed) (2000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Lactarius volemus (Ithaca) (7500 X)

Thumbnail SEM Phellodon sp. (Ithaca) (6000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Boletus russellii (Ithaca) (5000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Hypomycetes lactifluorum (U. New Hampshire)

Thumbnail SEM Russula mariae (5000 X)

Thumbnail SEM Russula decolorans (5930 X)

Thumbnail SEM Inocybe sp. (cystidium)

Thumbnail SEM Inocybe sp.

copyright and all other rights reserved
Michael W. J. West { mwest@nyx.cs.du.edu }
revised May 12, 1995