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Rating: 
Summary: Memories of Mycology
Review: One of my first memories of finding mushrooms was when I was a young child. Apparently what we had found was called a common puffball. Another interesting experiences with mushrooms was when I found them growing in carpet in the damp basement of a house in Seattle, WA. It was amazing, there in the carpet, these silly mushrooms had decided to grow in the dark basement without any sunlight. One wonders if they were aspiring to be a truffle from France. My most recent discovery was an amazing "Fly Amanita" (see picture on left in the middle of the book cover) a few years ago in October, which was so perfect and fresh, I ran back to my house to get my camera. They are the classic fairy-tale toadstool with an orange cap and smooth faintly grooved margin and white veil scales on the surface. Apparently it is poisonous if eaten in large quantities. Amanita muscaria is actually one of the best known of all fungus species. I sent a picture to Martha Stewart to ask her what type of toadstool it was. That was before I had this lovely book. Well, she sent me back the pictures and thanked me for the letter, but never told me what the species was. I reviewed her new cookbook anyway. What I didn't know was that these mushrooms have a close beneficial relationship with a host spruce tree. Below ground, there is a mycorrhizal partnership where the fungus grows a mantle around the tiniest tree roots and a net of hyphae in between the outer root cells. Nutrients are exchanged between the partners via complex chemical pathways. Most of the mushrooms and toadstools you will find are in wooded areas in the fall. Identification can be difficult. This book can be an aid to identifying various species. However it is strongly recommended that beginners take along an experienced forager if they are gathering mushrooms for eating. There are some edible species that look very similar to poisonous ones and the effects of eating a poisonous mushroom can lead to fatal liver damage or death. I would not be able to tell the difference between Agaricus Xanthoderma and Agaricus Arvensis. They are just too similar. The fungi features in this book are placed in one of 16 main sections, based on their most obvious visual characteristics. You will find the scientific family name and season in which the mushroom will appear at the top of each page. You can learn about the habitat and geographical distribution, similarities to other species and see cross-sections for useful details such as flesh color. From the delicate and almost flower like Umbrella Inky Cap to the spectacular Cinnabar Chanterelle, every mushroom you could imagine is listed here. While I'm not a member of a amateur mushroom hunting club, I have thought it would be rather fun. After all, I've already found the most beautiful Fly Amanita and after taking that picture, thought it would be amusing to go looking for more mushrooms to photograph. It is almost more fun to go take pictures, have them developed and then try to identify your recent find.
Rating:
Summary: A Visual Treat of Mushrooms
Review: The pictures in this guide are incredible! The picture above pales in comparison to the actual book cover, and it is too bad that there has not been a picture of one of the pages included. Each type of mushroom or fungus has its own half page section. The sections have a large and vivid pictures of the species. Did I mention that the pictures are incredible? Usually sections have supporting pictures such as top views and gill views of the mushrooms. It also gives species information, season availability, and dimensions in centimeters of the cap and the stem. The discussion in the section gives written information on description, occurrence, and similar species. As far as edibility of mushrooms, this guide gives a symbol for the categories of edible, non-edible, and poisonous. This is really the only discussion of edibility, so this book is not a guide to eating mushrooms, but an overall guide to mushrooms. The cover is close to being waterproof, which makes it excellent for taking into the field. The pages are high-quality paper. This book is a tremendous deal!
Rating:
Summary: A Visual Treat of Mushrooms
Review: The pictures in this guide are incredible! The picture above pales in comparison to the actual book cover, and it is too bad that there has not been a picture of one of the pages included. Each type of mushroom or fungus has its own half page section. The sections have a large and vivid pictures of the species. Did I mention that the pictures are incredible? Usually sections have supporting pictures such as top views and gill views of the mushrooms. It also gives species information, season availability, and dimensions in centimeters of the cap and the stem. The discussion in the section gives written information on description, occurrence, and similar species. As far as edibility of mushrooms, this guide gives a symbol for the categories of edible, non-edible, and poisonous. This is really the only discussion of edibility, so this book is not a guide to eating mushrooms, but an overall guide to mushrooms. The cover is close to being waterproof, which makes it excellent for taking into the field. The pages are high-quality paper. This book is a tremendous deal!
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous
Review: This book is fabulously beautiful. I'm not planning on hunting mushrooms. And I think this book has more mushrooms in it than I'll ever see in my life. But the book is printed on beautiful paper, the photographs are meticulously printed, and mushrooms are just plain beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous
Review: This book is fabulously beautiful. I'm not planning on hunting mushrooms. And I think this book has more mushrooms in it than I'll ever see in my life. But the book is printed on beautiful paper, the photographs are meticulously printed, and mushrooms are just plain beautiful.
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