Mushroom Field Guide Recommendations?

[iceNsnow]

Hey Mycologists!

Does anyone have a favorite or highly recommended field guide to mushrooms of the NEast? Or specificly an Edible Wild Mushroom Guide book?

Which books should a steer away from?

Thanks Schroomers!

Inge

 

[gaiagirl]

iceNsnow,

I would say do not buy one specifically for the purpose of learning about edibility or inedibility; that's my personal opinion. It takes a lot of experience over time to develop enough knowledge to be safe when it comes to foraging. Go out with people who have been mushrooming/foraging for years, buy guides like Mushrooms Demystified, the Peterson Guide, the Peterson folding FlashGuide, etc. and take the time to get out there and learn as much as you can. But don't depend on books to give you the information you need to keep you safe when picking to eat.

I have been a naturalist for over 10 years, took a formal class in Mycology in Grad School, and still feel that there are probably only 20 mushrooms or fewer in the N.E. woods that I would feel confident in picking to eat. Going out into the woods repeatedly with an expert was the only way I could have felt comfortable at all, as there is just too much left to chance in books and other printed resources.
This is only my recommendation, for sure, but it is based on personal experience. Don't be afraid of mushrooms, that's not my message at all; just be safe and take the time to gain the experience you need before you take any risks.

 

[Whiteman]

Another book idea

I like the work of Orson Miller, who now has a Falcon guide (I don't know this one particularly, but I'm betting it's a dead ringer for his others), North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi (Falconguide).

Check the other thread on Glowing Mushrooms for more chatter on this topic.

Eat safe!

 

[Stan]

Russ Cohen lectures and writes about edible wild plants and mushrooms. Here's the bibliography page from his website which includes a couple of books on mushrooms. edible plants bibliography

 

[Nessmuk]

I have been a naturalist for over 10 years, took a formal class in Mycology in Grad School, and still feel that there are probably only 20 mushrooms or fewer in the N.E. woods that I would feel confident in picking to eat. Going out into the woods repeatedly with an expert was the only way I could have felt comfortable at all, as there is just too much left to chance in books and other printed resources.

I have been told by numerous sources that all puffballs are edible, as long as you can positively identify it as a puffball with a creamy white interior and not something else. When large enough to eat identification should be easy and there should not be any confusion, but don't take my advice as I am no expert. However, I have eaten many puffballs, sliced and sauteed in butter with a little herb flavoring of choice until golden brown. They are delicate and tasty. Am I correct gaiagirl?

 

[gaiagirl]

Oh my no! The first one that comes to mind is the aptly named Poison Pigskin Puffball , Scleroderma citrinum (it has other common names including Common earthball). If eaten raw or consumed in any quantity beyond a bite, it will cause naseau, vomitting, chills, cold sweats, etc.

Many puffballs are edible, but MANY are most definitely not!!!
It may depend on what you decide to call a puffball to begin with. I believe that most if not all belonging to the genus Lycoperdon are edible to some degree, though some would be much tastier and plentiful than others. Also, young specimens would always be best, and with maturity edibility certainly declines.

 

[Nessmuk]

Oh my no! The first one that comes to mind is the aptly named Poison Pigskin Puffball , Scleroderma citrinum (it has other common names including Common earthball). If eaten raw or consumed in any quantity beyond a bite, it will cause naseau, vomitting, chills, cold sweats, etc.

Many puffballs are edible, but MANY are most definitely not!!!
It may depend on what you decide to call a puffball to begin with. I believe that most if not all belonging to the genus Lycoperdon are edible to some degree, though some would be much tastier and plentiful than others. Also, young specimens would always be best, and with maturity edibility certainly declines.

hmmm, maybe I should have added smooth skin to the white interior. Have I been misled by this site among others where I see statements like: "Puffballs are ideal for beginning mushroomers because there are no poisonous species, and they're easy to tell apart from other groups if you pay attention. If a puffball has no stalk or "legs" and is pure white, and soft, (like cottage cheese or tofu), and has no separate parts inside, (like gills), then it's in an immature state, and it's a choice edible mushroom." These are the rules I've been following.

And here "They are considered among the safest choices for beginner mushroom hunters as nothing looks exactly like them that is poisonous."

This site says "As long as they're white all the way through, then they're good to eat. By the time they turn yellow, green or black they're really past their best. Slice them and fry them in bacon fat, or dip slices in egg and breadcrumbs before frying."

Or maybe I've just been lucky with the backyard white smooth skin puffballs I find at this time of year.

 

[gaiagirl]

All of the guidelines you highlight might well lead you to the genus Lycoperdon or others that would be at the very least harmless if not tasty. The field guides I use and all of the wisdom I have gleaned from my experience learning and teaching basically says don't use hard and fast guidelines when it comes to edibility since it's not something to take risks with.
This is certainly the approach my PhD level professor took, as well as the one of David Arora, the author of Mushrooms Demystified. In the field guide, he makes no claims about specific edibility of individual species, including the puffballs, when he has not actually tried them.

 

[TCD]

Blueberries. Raspberries. It's not very exciting, but no one gets sick.

 

[dudley]

I have "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms"
I like it very much. Other field guides I have seen don't compare IMO
A thumb tab guides you to a general shape then full color photos help with the visual ID. Then on to the written description for making a positive ID.
If I can't make an ID, on I go.

Mushrooms are nothing to be afraid of if you do your homework.
I have never take a class or been out with an expert yet there are maybe 10 or 12 edible 'shooms that I feel confident collecting, more if I have my field guide in my hands.
I've been at this over 15 years and still study my field guide regularly.

And no, I never did find any of those LBMs that I intended to look for when I bought the book.

As for puffballs, both death caps and destroying anglels look like puffballs before they break their vail.

 

[rambler]

Okay, who was that mushroom guy who hiked with an AMC group trip to Baxter? There is a deadly mushroom that looks very similar to a European mushroom that is edible. When the mistake is made, the symtoms do not appear for a couple of weeks, but when they do, they are fatal. Get a good book!

 

[iceNsnow]

Mushrooms Demystified!!

Thank you so much, Gaiagirl!
I love reading this book. It is as entertaining as it is informative!!
Excellent resource - although I doubt I'd carry it out in the field w/ me, it is an amazing collection of information on mushrooms.

Excited about mushroom learning!!
Inge