Mushroom Book

Description

The bulk of this North American edition is a field guide to 450 mushrooms. Entries include a brief description with a bulleted list of spore deposit, habitat, range, and fruiting. The author is a scientist experienced in mushroom education, and the information presented is accurate. A strength of this work is its color photographs; in each, the whole specimen is shown, accompanied by views from various angles to focus the user on important features. Illustrations depict a typical growing situation, and symbols help the reader quickly identify approximate size and edibility. Other sections provide beginning enthusiasts with an overview of mushrooms and give tips on collecting, preserving, and cooking. Twenty recipes from a cooking authority are included, but those seeking recipes may prefer David W. Fischer and Alan E. Bessette’s Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field to Kitchen Guide (Univ. of Texas, 1992). Recommended for extensive fungi collections and libraries seeking to supplement currently held mushroom books