Spore syringes, prints and swabs in Australia

Spore syringe, print or swab

A spore syringe holds spores suspended in sterile water, usually 10 ml, ready to put a drop on a slide. A spore print is the deposit a cap drops onto foil or paper, and a swab carries spores on a sterile cotton tip. Prints and swabs are dry, so they keep longest and handle a hot post box best; a syringe is the quickest to use at the microscope. The prints and swabs guide and the spore syringe microscopy guide cover each one.

What an isolated spore sample is

Some Australian vendors label syringes as isolated spore samples: spores taken from a line the vendor has selected, rather than from a wild or mixed print. It is the vendor's own label, so read the listing for how the line was kept. Isolated vs multispore syringes explains the difference.

Storing syringes in an Australian summer

Keep syringes in the fridge, not the freezer, and prints and swabs dry, dark and cool. Bring parcels in from the letterbox promptly on hot days. The storage guide has the detail, and ordering in the Australian summer covers the heat.

Buying from overseas

Australia's biosecurity rules cover fungal and other biological material arriving from overseas. Parcels can be inspected, held or destroyed at the border, and live cultures in particular may need an import permit; the Department of Agriculture's BICON database sets out the conditions. Ordering from an Australian vendor keeps the parcel inside the country.

The law

Psilocybin and psilocin are controlled substances in Australia. Spores contain neither, but the law on Psilocybe spores differs between states and territories, and some restrict their sale or possession. Vendors on Culture Cave sell Psilocybe and Panaeolus spores and cultures for microscopy and taxonomy use only, so check the law in your own state or territory before you order. Nothing on this page is legal advice.