When the puff goes poof! 🍄💨 How do mushrooms release their spores? Most species release spores from their gills by way of surface tension catapults. Any disturbance to the mushroom, causing movement, will free spores from the gills and launch them into the air. Puffball mushrooms, as seen in the video, expel its spores from its insides through an opening when its body is depressed by raindrops or even a touch. Oh, Neptune! Video description (sound of raindrops): It’s what I live spore! A ranger’s fingers squeeze a spherically shaped Gem-studded Puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum), releasing spores from its aperture. NPS Video: S. Krause #Fungi #Redwoods #Mushrooms #puff