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Timberdoodler
illustrator
Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 122
Loc: Pennsylvania
Last seen: 15 years, 10 months
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Mushroom Hunting Books
#6605482 - 02/24/07 12:26 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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Alright...so I've been in hibernation. (Not really.) Snow covers most of Pennsylvania right now, so I haven't been able to locate mushrooms for some time and probably won't find any until April. I can barely wait to start sharing new photos and hunt experiences in the new year! I've been looking over the files I had from last year. What great memories!
In any scenario, everyone on this forum really helped me expand my mind a bit on the mycological world, and I've made a few purchases to take my hobby even further. Let me know your opinions on the following books:
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms by Gary H. Lincoff
- Morels by Michael Kuo
- Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi by David Arora
Mushrooms demystified seems to be the best of the three, juding by a five star rating from more than 30 Amazon shoppers. The morel book by Michael Kuo looks visually attractive to me - and being that this is my first year planning on hunting morels, I hope it becomes a useful tool. As for the Audobon Field Guide - I have many Audobon Feild Guides and thought I'd add one for mushrooms to my collection. Plus, it can't hurt to have a book on the technicalities of mushroom identification.
If anybody on the board has these books, let me know if they're any good.
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ivi
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,089
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I only own Arora's Mushrooms Demystified out of the three aforementioned books. I can only say good things about it. The field guide is quite old (1986 edition if I remember right). Mushrooms have a tendency to change their species epithets and genera they belong in, some of the species mentioned in the book have changed their names in the past twenty years (most major changes are listed here). Also, I'd have liked more (colour) pictures. Other than that, the Mushrooms Demystified is perfect, very thorough, precise, based on dichotomous keys, also, I have found the dictionary of latin/greek word elements and suffixes at the end of the book very useful (and not only in mycology).
Best regards, ivi
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snoot
look alive ∞
Registered: 01/30/05
Posts: 9,641
Loc: 45º parallel
Last seen: 8 days, 22 hours
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Re: Mushroom Hunting Books [Re: ivi]
#6605613 - 02/24/07 01:18 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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man i just found an awesome one at barnes and nobile brand new from late 2006 it was sweet it showed the emytology or whatever off all the names. Telling you the latin names mean and everything really cool, also catagorized by spore color.
audubon is an awesome book so is the Falcon Guide to N. American msurhooms and Smithsonian.
Its good too try and stay up to date as much as possible cause lots of things change and people are always making new discoverys. I remember reading really old fungus books in some old book shops that said some mushrooms taht I know are poisinous saying they were edible. You know an old book when they use drawings and such.
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∞ I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity. - Simone de Beauvoir -
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ivi
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 9,089
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A Short Dictionary of Scientific Latin and Greek Names from David Aroras "Mushrooms Demystified" [Re: snoot]
#6605887 - 02/24/07 02:54 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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In fact, while drinking my Saturdays beer, I found nothing better to do than scan the short dictionary of scientific names from the Mushrooms Demystified. I hope someone will find it as useful as I have.
Best regards, ivi
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eris
underground
Registered: 11/17/98
Posts: 48,024
Loc: North East, USA
Last seen: 6 months, 15 days
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You might want to check out "Mushrooms of North Eastern North America", it's another good one for our area... It's very extensive. It focuses on this part of the country, where Mushrooms Demystified (though still very helpful for those in the north east) is geared more toward PNW mushrooms.
The Audobon book is okay, but for the most part I found it to be not very useful for most of the mushrooms that I find around here. I traded my copy of that book off to another memeber here. You can't really ever have too many books though, I've had all but the morel one at one time or another,
-------------------- Immortal / Temporarily Retired The OG Thread Killer My mushroom hunting gallery
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georgeM
Human
Registered: 07/05/05
Posts: 1,748
Loc: Osage Cuestas
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Re: Mushroom Hunting Books [Re: eris]
#6607222 - 02/24/07 11:39 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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I find the keys in Arora's book to be the most useful of the three you mentioned... of course Michael Kuo's book is a different category all together, i recommend it if you are interested in morels however it isn't really useful as a field guide. Eris' recommendation is a good one too. George Barron knows his mushrooms... cool website and the Mycology cd he has for sale is awesome http://www.uoguelph.ca/~gbarron/
Edited by georgeM (02/24/07 11:43 PM)
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Individual
Bass Addict
Registered: 12/20/06
Posts: 6,666
Loc: Reality Loophole
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Re: Mushroom Hunting Books [Re: georgeM]
#6612908 - 02/26/07 02:48 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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duckduckgoose
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/07
Posts: 26
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
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Have about 15 mushroom books and all have left me disappointed. If you gather all 15 and take the good points from each you will have one great book. I also live in PA. which is a great state for mushrooms and we just lack a great book for are area. I have been thinking about writing a book just on PA mushrooms for a long time. Because it would be just on PA mushroom would like to get photos from every stage of the mushroom growth from pins to spore drop. Even though I do know all of the Latin name would also like to include the slang names for the different shrooms. You don't know how many people ask me To ID and if I would give them the Latin name they would look at me funny. Have been working on this for about 5 years every time I get close they make a better camera and my old pics look like crap. Does anybody feel the same way.
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duckduckgoose
Stranger
Registered: 02/20/07
Posts: 26
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
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Re: Mushroom Hunting Books [Re: eris]
#6613222 - 02/26/07 04:14 PM (17 years, 1 month ago) |
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eris your right the book Mushrooms of North Eastern North America hands down is the best book for eastern mushroomers. Nice size to fit in back pack and loaded with good info. Out of all my books the Audobon is two thumbs down has great pics put the info is just outdated.
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Timberdoodler
illustrator
Registered: 07/20/06
Posts: 122
Loc: Pennsylvania
Last seen: 15 years, 10 months
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OK, to start off...thanks to everyone for the input! The books are almost here, I can just feel it. That said, I'm also going to purchase Mushrooms of North Eastern North America. Thanks for the suggestion on that one! Initially, I was going to get that one - not sure why I didn't.
Secondly, I should probably specify that I'm not seeking books (or mushrooms for that matter) for psychadelic qualities. I have mild interest in it (I mean...it's nice to know afterall), but I truly love mushrooms for...well...their beauty and biology. (That sounds so corny.)When I collect, I only collect for ID or edibles.
As for Kuo's Morel book...I don't need a field guide for ID on morels. My primary purpose in purchasing that book was to learn about that specific (and enamouring) edible so that I can increase my odds of finding a good crop this spring. Even if the book had no photography, it'd be useful.
There's no doubt about it though...I'm going for the book Eris mentioned now as well.
Jeeze...I'm going to be SO prepared come April. I doubt there's such a thing as "too prepared" when it comes to mushrooms though. Particularly when you're eating them.
Thanks again guys. You all rock.
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