A mushroom can't tell you its name, but it will sign it. A spore print is the signature — and it's the cheapest identification tool there is.

The method

Cut the cap from the stem, set it gill-side down on paper, cover it with a bowl, and wait. By morning, the spores have fallen in a radial pattern you can read.

Why it matters

White spores versus brown splits the mushroom world clean in half. Before you open an app, take the print — it's the one check a mushroom can't fake.