Mushroom Picker's Foolproof Field Guide

by Peter Jordan

Discover the delicacies in your garden, local woodlands or fields with this fully-illustrated A-Z guide.

Genres: Food

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2004

Reviews

[Steve Davala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just recently started to photo mushrooms in my area and really wanted to ID and hopefully eat them.
This book helps... kind of.
"You can eat this delicious one!"
"But be careful because it has a deadly lookalike!"

How are more people not dead from mushroom accidents?

Anyway, this book has plenty of beautiful pictures and ways to ID a mushroom, but I think the only way to really learn is by having a personal guide whenever I go to the woods to tell me what I'm looking at.

Even then, I'd make them eat the mushroom first.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book cover to cover, so it reads well - easier than a field guide where I pick and choose what I read. Although not comprehensive in covering all mushrooms (fungi) it helped me place a possible ID on a few species I found on our land last August. I am new to foraging for fungi.

I took many photos of the mushrooms I found last year and want to try to identify them. The only one we tried was the Bear's Tooth Fungi because it does not have a poisonous look alike in North America. The toothed fungi, in general, were not covered in this book. That was okay with me - I had read about them elsewhere.

The photos are stunning, too. Most likely, I'll take some notes from this book to help me with identification this summer - or I'll buy a copy. Yes, I would recommend it as a companion to a more comprehensive but briefer field guide.

[Elisha H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this one! super informative with great photographs that are clearly labeled. my only qualm is the size of the book, it isn’t a realistic thought to believe you’d bring this with you in the field.

[Cary Kostka · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it does not include all possible mushroom species out there, which for me was a great move on the part of the author, this guide is very well laid out and informative. He does a fantastic job outlining what to look for within each mushroom type and the photos in this book make it extremely easy to identify. A must have reference for any current or perspective mushroom hunter.

[Janie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still a fool. This guide is not proof against me. There's nothing for it: I'll have to find a guild.

I like the thorough sampling of the pictures. Almost all the featured mushrooms have at least one "as found in nature shot" and one picked, close up / gill / detail / cross-cut shot. Some mushrooms are pictured before, during, and after maturity.

I want to find a book that has spore prints included with each featured mushroom.

[Mike Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

resume in spring

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

also a good resource but large hardcover . great photos and good distinction between edible and poisonous varieties.