What types of fungi are there?
If you find a toadstool or mushroom, one way of identifying what type of fungus it might be, is to look at its spores. To do this you can make a spore print. To make a spore print: Carefully cut the stem of the fungus from the cap . Place the cap, with the gills down, on a piece of paper. If the gills are light coloured, use dark paper. If the gills are dark, use white paper Place a bowl over the fungus to prevent draughts affecting your spore print. Leave the fungus for a few hours to allow time for the spores to fall and produce a pattern on the paper. Some fungi may need to be left overnight, some will work very quickly. When you have your spore print, you can keep it by spraying it with a fixative spray. The fungi kingdom is divided up into different groups called phyla.
