Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

What is your microscopy history? What are your interests? What equipment do you use?
Post Reply
Message
Author
Andy Ternay
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:33 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#1 Post by Andy Ternay » Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:45 am

I am a mushroom farmer in North Texas who cultivates gourmet mushrooms from spores and cloned tissue for sale to chefs and consumers. I have learned that East Texas is considered an unexplored frontier in mushrooms - there are many undescribed species out there and many known edible and medicinal species. I must be able to identify what I collect in the wild with 100% certainty before *I* eat it to test the species - let alone before I culture and sell it!!! Many species can be identified by macroscopic features but others require that microscopic features be identified. Some require spore identification; some require microscopic identification of macroscopic parts - mushroom gills, bastidia, hyphae and so forth. Others require looking at color changes at the microscopic level after staining. So, time to start learning microscopy.

I also want to examine the crystalline microstructure on under my stereo microscope of metal artifacts (acquired legally) from Bronze Age through Viking Period in Northern Europe.

So, kinda broad interests here.

WhyMe
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:04 pm
Location: Eastern USA

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#2 Post by WhyMe » Fri Jan 10, 2020 5:21 pm

Welcome to the forum! I'm a new guy too. Lots of information here!

Andy Ternay
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:33 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#3 Post by Andy Ternay » Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:16 pm

Thank you! Yes, it looks like a treasure trove of information! I've been following Oliver's videos!

User avatar
Roldorf
Posts: 574
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:58 pm
Location: Northern Germany

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#4 Post by Roldorf » Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:02 pm

Sounds to me that you need two scopes, a stereo scope for the artifacts and a trinocular (so you can also take photos) microscope for the mushrooms.
Location: Northern Germany

Unknown Brand: Optika SFX 91: Bresser Science Infinity: Canon 4000d
ImageImage

Andy Ternay
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2020 6:33 am
Location: Dallas, TX

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#5 Post by Andy Ternay » Sat Jan 11, 2020 8:02 pm

Hi Roldorf, my thought also. I have a stereo microscope from the 80's which likely has scratched eyepieces (because I cleaned them before finding this site/forum). and was gifted a Swift 380T this Christmas. I'm worried the Swift won't have the resolution for spores but goodness, what an awesome gift!!!

User avatar
Roldorf
Posts: 574
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:58 pm
Location: Northern Germany

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#6 Post by Roldorf » Sun Jan 12, 2020 8:15 pm

You will need a 100x object lens to see the spores and get measurements which you will need for identification.
Location: Northern Germany

Unknown Brand: Optika SFX 91: Bresser Science Infinity: Canon 4000d
ImageImage

Dave S
Posts: 280
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 11:06 am
Location: Suffolk, UK
Contact:

Re: Mushrooms! Swords! Spears!

#7 Post by Dave S » Mon Jan 13, 2020 7:31 pm

Hi Andy, and welcome :)
Suffolk, UK

Post Reply