Golden Teacher spore print: the deposit of a Psilocybe cubensis
A spore print is a deposit of the spores themselves. A mature cap is placed gills down on a sterilised surface, in practice usually aluminium foil, covered over and left for a few hours up to a full day. What remains is a layer of spores in the pattern of the gills. For Psilocybe cubensis that layer is dark purple-brown, dark enough that a thick print can read as almost black. Mycologists often check print colour first: purple-brown points towards Psilocybe and related genera, while Panaeolus, for instance, leaves a jet black print.
Golden Teacher is not a species of its own but a variety of Psilocybe cubensis that arose in cultivation. The name comes from the colour of the caps, which come up golden to yellowish brown. Where the variety came from is poorly documented; the usual account is that it turned up somewhere in the 1980s, and no formal botanical description exists for it as a separate variety. Growers describe medium to large fruiting bodies, a sturdy white stem and often a small nipple in the middle of the cap, and call the variety a moderate coloniser with predictable yields.
What you see under the microscope
The spores of Psilocybe cubensis are smooth, elliptical to somewhat hexagonal in outline and carry a conspicuous germ pore. In KOH they turn purplish brown. A microscope at 400 times magnification or more is enough. Use a sterile needle to transfer a small amount of material from the print onto a slide, add a drop of water and lower a cover slip onto it. Work with clean tools and clean hands: dust on the slide is hard to tell apart from what you are trying to look at.
Details for this variety
For reference, the figures that go with this variety:
- Substrate: compost, grain, pasteurised dung and straw
- Temperature during colonisation: 28 to 30 degrees Celsius
- Temperature during fruiting: 22 to 26 degrees Celsius
Storage and what the print is for
Store the print cool, dry and away from light, which keeps the spores usable for the longest time. Do not touch the spore surface with your fingers and leave it wrapped until you use it. We sell spore prints for microscopy and identification; what is permitted beyond that differs from country to country, so check before you go any further.
Alongside spore prints, Avalon Magic Plants stocks spore syringes, spore vials and liquid culture syringes, plus separate supplies such as alcohol preps, sterile gloves and a sterile syringe with needle. If you simply want to watch Golden Teacher grow, the Golden Teacher Mini grow kit of 600 cc is the easier route. Your order is shipped in discreet packaging.
