Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms (Nature Guide Series) [Paperback]

Gary H. Lincoff (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nature Guide Series | Publication Date: March 12, 1982

Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms is indispensable to anyone fascinated by mushrooms and other fungi. Lavishly illustrated, it contains detailed information about 420 types of mushrooms and other fungi found in the United States and Europe. The comprehensive introduction provides general information on the structure, reproduction, life cycles, classification, and distribution of the various species and describes the individual parts of the fungus as well. The entries describe the appearance, habitat, and geographic distribution of each species of fungi. The easy-to-use visual key provides each entry with immediately recognizable symbols that indicate spore color, ecological environment, and whether the species is edible or poisonous. A glossary and analytical index, plus an Index to Genera for locating particular subjects, help make this the most beautiful, valuable, and authoritative book in the field.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Italian (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

MUSHROOMS WITH SCALES ON CAP AND STEM

1 AMANITA CAESAREA

Etymology From Latin, "of Caesar" or "regal," because it was a favorite of the early Roman Caesars.

Description Cap 8-20 cm, hemispherical to flat, orange-red washing out to yellow, cuticle separable, sometimes with evident membranous remains of white veil, margin striate. Gills free, crowded, yellow. Stipe 8-15 x 2-3 cm, narrowing at top, hollow when mature, with yellow falling ring, slightly swollen at base, with large white membranous volva. Flesh whitish, yellowish beneath cuticle. Without evident odor. Spores white, elliptical, smooth, 8-14 x 5-8.5 microns.

Edibility In Europe, excellent cooked.

Habitat In airy parts of dry oak woods, in slightly acid ground, and with pines.

Season Spring to autumn.

Note The common North American form, which may be a distinct species, has a somewhat umbonate cap and a thinner (1-2 cm) yellow stripe, and occurs from eastern Canada to Florida and west to the central states; the same or a similar form occurs in the Southwest and Mexico.

Caution A number of look-alikes of unknown edibility exist in North America. And what is called A. caesarea in North America is not generally regarded as choice.

2 AMANITA MUSCARIA

Muscaria

Common name Fly agaric.

Etymology From Latin "of flies," because of the northern European custom of using the cap, soaked in milk, to kill or stupefy flies.

Description Cap 8-25 cm, hemispherical to slightly concave, cuticle detachable, red, covered with white pyramidal warts which may be removed by rain, margin striate. Gills white, crowded, free. Stipe 12-25 x 1.5-2.5 cm, basal bulb with volva of several concentric warty rings, ring white, membranous. Flesh soft and white, orange-red beneath cuticle. Not very conspicuous odor. Spores white, ovoid, smooth, 9-11 x 6-8 microns.

Edibility Fairly poisonous, depending on the season.

Habitat In mountains under conifers and birch.

Season Summer and fall.

Note Although reported from Siberia as producing hallucinations, the red-capped North American variety which is found in northern forests and higher altitudes in the south, causes delirium, manic behavior and deep sleep, sometimes accompanied by profuse sweating.

3 AMANITA MUSCARIA

Formosa

Common name American fly agaric.

Etymology From Latin, "handsome-looking."

Description This variety has a yellowish to orange coloration, or has a tinge of red at the center. All the velar remains (ring, volva and warts) are white, and the description of A. muscaria (2) applies to this variety in all other respects.

Edibility Toxicity appears to vary widely from place to place, and seems to lie for the most part in the cap cuticle.

Habitat This variety is very common in North America, but becomes rarer, more stender, and tinged with a salmonlike coloration in the southern states. Moving west we also find the typical red-capped A. muscaria.

Season Summer and autumn.

Note Although the toxins in both varieties of this species are reportedly concentrated in the colored skin of the cap, peeling the mushroom does not render it harmless, and poisonings do occur. The hallucinations for which the red-capped Siberian variety is notorious do not seem to occur with either American variety; rather, the experience is often one of delirium and deep sleep, sometimes accompanied by profuse sweating.

4 AMANITA PHALLOIDES

Common name Death cap.

Etymology From Latin, "phalluslike," because of the shape of the carpophore in the early stages of growth.

Description Cap 5-20 cm, subspherical to flat, rarely with membranous velar remains; fairly deep olive-green to olive-brown but paler toward margin, usually with dark innate radial fibrils. Gills white or slightly yellowish, quite crowded, free. Stipe 8-20 x 1-2 cm, tapering toward top, hollow when mature, white speckled with greenish gray stripes, white membranous ring, striate at top, base bulbous with large, white, membranous volva. Flesh white, but greenish yellow just beneath cuticle. Odor first neutral, then nauseous. Spores white, ovoid to nearly round, smooth, 8-11 x 7-9 microns, amyloid.

Edibility Deadly poisonous.

Habitat With a preference for broadleaf trees, particularly oak, but also under pine and spruce.

Season Late spring to late autumn.

Note When cut, the outline of the carpophore is white, faintly green in the cuticle area. As little as one cap can prove fatal to ah adult. Symptoms don't occur for about 10-12 hours (or longer). Although only recently confirmed in North America, it is now known from several eastern seaboard states and the Pacific coast.

Copyright © 1981 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., Milano

Product Details

• Paperback: 511 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (March 12, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671428497
• ISBN-13: 978-0671428495
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Mushrooms

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Take this book with you on your trip to Spain, August 20, 2006

By 

Michael Wilken (Central Wisconsin, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms (Nature Guide Series) (Paperback)

After struggling in the field using this guide, I almost gave up trying to identify mushrooms. Then I checked the publishing info and found it was written in Spain with photo credits from London, Milano, Paris....This is a European translation from the early 80's, don't make the mistake I did!

I then randomly opened the book and ran a search on the mushroom on the page: Cortinarius Albovioceus My search led to a mushroom expert's site that said this mushroom is found in Scandinavia and no specimen to the expert's knowledge was ever been found in North America.

But I should say that the book has great photos that could be used as a secondary verification of an identity.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., March 7, 2001

By 

Michelle (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms (Nature Guide Series) (Paperback)

I happen to love mushrooms and am very into identifying the ones that grow in my backyard. This book was a lot more helpful to me than any of the others I found. The beginning is extremely informative, and the species guide is huge-about 240 great pictures! No book can list every one, but this one covers a great many, especially common ones you're likely to see. Get it-it's a good buy.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very helpful book on identifying different fungi, June 20, 1999

By 

Julia Acevedo (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mushrooms (Nature Guide Series) (Paperback)

This book not only has clear color pictures of over 400 different kinds of mushrooms and other fungi, it also lists habitats, seasons when the listed mushrooms grow, and edibility. The book also explains the reproductive cycle of mushrooms, and how they help to break down organic matter into soil minerals. This book will not make you an expert on mushrooms, and I would not recommend collecting wild mushrooms for consumption because many deadly ones look very similar to edible ones, but all in all, this is the best book on the subject I have seen so far!