Customer Reviews

Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest: Timber Press Field Guide (Timber Press Field Guides)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Some reviewers have taken our book to task for lack of edibility information and use of Latin names for the mushrooms. Some clarification is in order.

Previous reviewer's comment: "Excellent book for identification but it doesn't tell you if the mushrooms are edible or not."

There are 466 species illustrated and described. Edibility is explicitly discussed in 139 of the descriptions. Edibility comments in the genus descriptions cover 286 species and in genera like Cortinarius, Russula, and Clitocybe, where very few of the species are known to be edible, this saves repeating the same phrase in every species description. Accounting for overlap in these two lists, there is specific edibility information for 344 species. Another 62 species are things that are tiny and fleshless, or tough and woody or leathery, so obviously would not be eaten. Thus, the edibility is given or is obvious for 406 species, or almost 90% of those in the book. This includes virtually all of the species that reasonably could be considered edible, as well as those that are of concern for toxicity.

Another reviewer commented: "This book uses the Latin names for mushrooms EVERYWHERE ... A college course textbook that will help you learn the Latin names for mushrooms, NOT a field guide."

Mushrooms are not birds - very few of them have common names in English. Any book that gives common names for all its mushrooms either covers only a small number of the most well known species or has made up common names for the bulk of them - and no two authors agree on the same set of names. So, just like with the dinosaurs that we and our kids call by their scientific names, we have to use Latin names for most mushrooms. Common names are given for 53 species, about 12% of those in the book, and there are only a couple others for which widely used common names could have been listed. And, although it has been used in at least one college class already, even a few minutes in a college bookstore would be enough to tell that it by no means is a textbook.

This is a technical book written in reasonably non technical language for an amateur mushroom hunter who would like to try to identify his species in the field and not pack too much unusable material home. The book will fit in most backpacks. Although 450 species does not seem like a large percentage of the 5000 or so claimed to exist in the Pacific Northwest, the authors have selected the more common ones and the likelihood it will be contained in the book is enhanced. The organization is around general statures so that one goes first to a general construct and then to specific variations to arrive at the final identification. Where there are not too many species in a given genus, this should work fairly well. While the photo illustrations started out as excellent photos, the relatively poor color printing process muddied up details making some comparisons difficult. In some cases the illustration did not seem to identify the characters regarded as diagnostic. The authors eschew keys to species, but do provide descriptions of diagnostic characteristics rather than the more traditional (and less interesting) full description of each species. That approach is commendable. However, size relationships are not as well explained as they should be and a better exposition of size is needed. Due to the DNA revolution a whole new approach to the classification and naming of species has occurred. Those of us who have seen older works at times despair when the new name is not indexed in a familiar place. The lack of double indexing is an important deficit given the magnitude of name changing. However, as a whole this is an important work and a serious effort at balancing the problem of keeping the tremendous array of fungi manageable in the field with a reasonable sized book.

For any serious mushroom hunter in the Pacific Northwest (northern California to British Columbia), this book is a must addition to one's mycological library. It contains the latest nomenclatural changes for species names and is full of excellent color photographs. It makes a great companion guide to David Arora's "Mushrooms Demystified" for the serious collector, or stands on its own for the beginner. Although it lacks keys to individual species, it covers the complete gamut of mushroom types one might encounter and provides useful information for each mushroom described.

Problems with this book:

1. The photos are too small and are quite grainy compared to the other color-photograph mushroom books I have.

2. The keys are terrible.

3. The entries in most mushroom books first describe the physical appearance of the mushroom with a section for "Cap" and a section for "Gills" and a section for "Stalk", etc., followed by a "Comments" section that discusses interesting facts about the mushroom, its life cycle, lookalikes, and so on. The entries in this book seem as if the authors wrote a normal mushroom guide like that, and then deleted everything except the "Comments" sections. So the entries are interesting, but severely lacking in the details necessary to identify a mushroom. For example, I expect a field guide to give me basics like cap and stalk measurements *for every mushroom*. For the vast majority of mushrooms in this book, all you get is that a mushroom is "medium sized" or "small to medium," and many entries have no size information whatsoever -- you must glean whether the mushroom is "large" or "minuscule to small" from the equally vague genus description on another page.

This book has some interesting information in it, but it's useless for identifying mushrooms, and is not worth the price.

This is a new book to go along several others I own. It is well done particularly in appearance. I guarantee I will end up using this about 1000x more than the beloved David Arora books that I never use. There are tons and tons of high quality color photos, along with specific descriptions of each species discussed. It includes brief information about the genus psilocye as well (active mushrooms as some would call them).

this book is not what i was hoping for. imo not a good book for a casual mushroom hunter. get all that rains one.

This is the definitive field guide to mushrooms in the Pacific Northwest, edible and otherwise. If you are looking for a book on the subject, this is the one to buy. Hands down.

VERY SIMPLE Identification and characteristics which makes it perfect for carrying in the woods. Enough detail to sucessfully Identify species with out too much to read.
4 1/2 Stars.

The book is used as part of the Mushroom training held at the Lewis County Master Gardener Classes. Excellent information for those with little prior knowledge and a welcome addition to a true gardeners library.

Greatly informative, detailed and masterfully done. Spore color guides, fantastic photos, index, and terminology definition section were all very helpful. My friend liked it so much that I gave it to him, now I will be purchasing another one!