If you want to enjoy foraging (and cooking) this book will educate you to identify desirable species. Central to the philosophy of this book is that building comprehensive knowledge reduces both poisoning risk and environmental harm." Mushrooms is my personal take on the world of fungi in Britain, about the pleasures of searching for mushrooms and toadstools, and why they matter. I have written it as a narrative, in current TV parlance as a ‘journey’, beginning with the extraordinary diversity of fungi and the ways in which they exploit the natural world to the history of the fungus foray and the controversy over gathering wild mushrooms for the pot. In the process I zoom in on the nature of names, both Latin and English, at the places which hold the greatest diversity of fungi, and our attempts to conserve rare and vanishing fungi. It is, I hope, a refreshing and amusing look at this ‘third world’ of life, written without jargon and in lively style. I hope it can be read with pleasure by anyone. It is full of lovely colour photographs. A mushroom book is only as good as its photos and/or illustrations. If you’re learning how to identify mushrooms for the first time, then every little detail matters. Look for guidebooks that combine exceptionally clear images with a taxonomic approach you can wrap your head around.

Nearly 2400 species are illustrated in full colour, with detailed notes on how to correctly identify them, including details of similar, confusing species. The premise of Siegel and Schwarz’s book is a bit unusual, since it focuses on the fungi of a single, narrowly-defined bioregion (the range of the coastal redwood) and provides brief introductions for many of the tree species typical of that region. This attention to more than mushrooms recognizes that fungi never grow alone, and that understanding them begins with knowing something of their ecological context. Many of the species covered also live outside redwood country, so readers throughout the Pacific Northwest can use the book. Not only do we get stunning images focused on the details required for aiding identification, plus detailed information on the chosen ten edibles, but more importantly we also get a variety of images and information on their commonly mistaken and poisonous lookalikes, which is fantastic." To embark on a successful mushroom foraging journey, it is important to establish a solid foundation and learn the art of mushroom identification. Here are some key steps to help you get started:Characteristics: Colossal fungi often mistaken for a football, with young puffballs having soft, clean white skin and firm flesh. Alison Pouliot is an ecologist and environmental photographer with a focus on fungi. She is active in Australian and international fungal conservation and her writing and images appear in both academic and popular literature. Alison’s fungus forays, which she conducts across both hemispheres, attract a range of people from foragers and philosophers to rangers and traditional owners. Her recent book The Allure of Fungi poses fundamental questions about human-fungus liaisons.

Best comprehensive guide: Collins Complete British Mushrooms and Toadstools by Paul Sterry, Barry Hughes

Go Foraging with Experienced Foragers: Accompanying experienced foragers on their expeditions can be an invaluable learning experience. They can share their expertise, teach you the nuances of mushroom identification, and provide insights into the best foraging spots. But while there are certainly risks, foraging guide books can start you down the path to expertise, bringing you closer to the knowledge necessary to make an assured identification. The right book can be the beginning of your wild foraging journey.

Many species can only be distinguished with certainty by using a microscope to examine their spores and other microscopic structures, or by the application of specific chemicals to produce colour reactions. More technical monographs are needed for these. Mushrooms of the Southeast covers 330 species and includes comparative notes on over 1000 species in a compact (field-guide size!), fully-illustrated book with an easy-to-use key. Some readers might be frustrated by all of the information on look-alikes, as the notes can call into question IDs that seemed clear. However, for foragers especially it is better to be uncertain than to be certain—and wrong. Seek Expert Advice: If you are unsure about the edibility of a wild mushroom, always seek advice from an expert. Eating a poisonous mushroom can be fatal or cause severe illness, so it is crucial to be cautious.By following these essential tips, you can ensure a safe and rewarding mushroom foraging experience in the UK. Identification: A grey to fawn cap that is at first egg-shaped and then later bell shaped. The surface is smooth and splits into a few tiny scales from the apex, the edges are often wavy and split. Stem is white and hollow. Cap is around 4-8 cm across and stem is 5-15 cm tall. Avoid Mushrooms with Unclear Identification: If you are unsure about the identification of a mushroom, it is best to err on the side of caution and avoid consuming it. Some mushrooms may have toxic look-alikes, making accurate identification crucial. Unfortunately, some readers find the book’s organization counter-intuitive or cumbersome, making its use for ID in the field difficult, and some editions have a few problematic errors. And while this book includes over 700 species, in attempting to cover an entire continent, it must inevitably leave out many species. Next up, Geoffrey Kibby, whose new photographic identification guide to the Genus Amanita is the fourth in a series of full colour fungi identification monographs, and is out now. In the following article Kibby discusses the finer points of mushroom identification: