Mushrooms of North America [Paperback]

Roger Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1991

The ultimate illustrated handbook on mushrooms.

More than 1,000 handsome color photographs by Roger Phillips illustrate this comprehensive guide to mushrooms and other fungi of North America, in all their astonishing variety.

Amateur collectors, expert mycologists and armchair naturalists will welcome the reissue of this valuable reference.

Each photograph has a neutral background to eliminate distractions. The specimens are arranged to show the cap, stem, gills, spines, and a cross section, usually in various stages of growth.

The information on each mushroom variety includes:

• Dimensions of cap, gills and stem
• Color and texture description of flesh
• Description of odor and taste
• Habitat and growing season
• Description of spores
• Categorization of edibility.

Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America also includes useful tips and helpful advice on collecting specimens and identifying them. This book is the ideal introduction to mycology.

(20051120)

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this beautifully illustrated book, Phillips vividly presents the world of mushrooms. Unlike the photographs in other guides, which are taken in the field, the more than 1000 color photographs featured here were shot in the studio in order to capture both the external features of mushrooms as well as their internal anatomy. Each picture includes specimens representing various stages of growth, and the accompanying annotation describes the anatomy of the cap, gills, stem, and spores. In addition, the author explains where the particular species of mushroom is found, its season of growth, and whether or not it is edible. Amateur mycologists as well as professionals in the field will find this book an invaluable guide. Highly recommended as a basic library reference source.
- Paul C. Radich, Univ. of Indianapolis
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

This is a paperback version of the well-received 2005 hardcover book of the same name. The 2005 publication was previously published as Mushrooms of North America (Little, Brown, 1991). Although this does not detract from the wealth of useful information contained here, it alerts the many libraries holding the earlier versions. Author Phillips is widely respected for his many fungi and horticultural books. He is able to engage the assistance of many experts, thereby increasing the value to users. The introduction includes information on mushroom poisoning and handling of mushrooms and generic beginner’s keys with and without sample photographs. Mycological terminology is very specialized, so the glossary is most welcome to novice and expert users. The descriptions of each species include geographic range and fruiting season and a statement of poison danger or a comment on edibility. There are two important differences in the new version. One is the absence of a bibliography. The other is that the quality of the photographs is not as good as in the 2005 hardcover. An advantage of the paperback for mycologists and amateur fungi enthusiasts is its portability in a mushroom searcher’s pocket, bag, or collection basket. If an earlier version of the guide is not in a library’s collection, this one should be. --Linda Scarth --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown & Co (P) (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316706132
• ISBN-13: 978-0316706131
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Bacteriology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete Beginner's Key but still very useful, September 23, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America (Hardcover)

Our yard, which is surrounded by swamps and a pine barren, is a haven for mushrooms: bright yellow ones that look like curdled egg yolk; morels in the spring (yummy); groups of flat-headed, long-stemmed mushrooms with black gills that turn into an inky sludge overnight (if you step into the sludge you're doomed), and shelves of multicolored fungi that grow on dead trees.

I figured it was time to consult a book on mushrooms, and this one is a doozy. "Mushrooms of North America" has over a thousand color photographs of mushrooms, along with detailed descriptions of its subjects.

The explanatory paragraphs include a description of the mushroom's cap, gills, stem, veil, and flesh. There is also information on the mushroom's odor, taste, spores, and habitat (including the season when it can be found). Additional comments are included on important matters such as edibility.

The introduction has directions on how to use this book. Novice mycologists like me are supposed start at the two-page "Beginner's Key" that illustrates some of the most common groups (genera) of mushrooms. So, let me go out and collect a mushroom and see if I can identify it from the "Beginner's Key"...

Unfortunately, my mushroom doesn't look like anything in the "Beginner's Key" but I have learned two things: (1) I need to collect the base of the mushroom in order to completely identify it. I can't just break the mushroom off at ground level; (2) spore color is an important identification key.

This book has directions on how to collect spores, but for the impatient it may be possible to scan through all thousand photographs and get a hit without waiting overnight for the spores to show up, which is what I did. What I thought were three distinct species of mushrooms all turned out to be Shaggy Manes (Coprinus comatus) in different stages of growth. According to the author, shaggy manes are edible and delicious when young, but the cap liquefies into such an inky mess, I think I'll give them a pass--at least until I become more familiar with fungi.

In spite of the fact that my mushroom's genus wasn't in the "Beginner's Key," I believe this book will be an important element in my mycological education. It's the most comprehensive identification guide I've yet found.

P.S. The bright yellow mushrooms in our yard are Jack O'Lanterns (Omphalotus illudens)- also not in the "Beginner's Key" but easily identified from their photograph and description. According to the author, it is "poisonous, but usually not fatal" so I'll restrain myself from eating this one, too.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but has a significant problem, October 7, 2007

By 

J. Denk (Tinley Park, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America (Hardcover)

On the plus side, this book exhaustively presents lots of species, including quite a few not covered in other popular guides, and in general, the photos are very good in all respects save one: the color accuracy. It appears that there has been little or no attempt to use color management when it came time to reproduce the photos. It appears that the mushrooms were all photographed in-studio rather than in the field, against a gray background. To appreciate how much the color reproduction varies, just look at the gray background in each photo, and you'll see just how off the color really is.

Other than that, I'd give the book 5 stars, but accurate color is very important in a book like this, so I give it 3 stars.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best mushroom guide ever for every skill level, June 28, 1998

By 

[e-mail] Diane (Antwerp, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mushrooms of North America (Paperback)

I have been a mushroom enthusiast for years now, but when I was given this fine book for my birthday, my excitement was doubled. The endless, clear, complete photos give all phases of the fungi you could find in the wild, not just a single photo or drawing. The written information is complete and easy to read. The glossary is amazing.The photos are so lovely you'd be proud to have them hanging in your house! The only drawback is it's too large to take into the field, but I always have it waiting for fast and certain identification at the end of a day.This is a "can't do without it" book for the mushroom hunter. His book on European mushrooms is equally fine.