The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide

By Alexander H. Smith, Nancy Smith Weber, Nancy Smith-Weber, et al.

Book Overview

The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide is the guide that tells when, where, and how to find delicious edible mushrooms and how to avoid poisonous ones. Beginners as well as experts will be able to identify mushrooms in a matter of minutes. All of the mushrooms included are illustrated in beautiful color, adding visual enjoyment to the textual materials. The descriptions are tinged with wit and wisdom, making the use of this guide an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
This edition of The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide should be useful throughout the United States and Canada, but users should remember that each region has certain species peculiar to it, and it is impossible to include all of them here. The coverage is best for the Northeast, Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest. It includes most of the truly fine edible wild mushrooms, whether they are common or rare. It also includes the most dangerous ones in order that collectors may recognize them for what they are.
"Whether you are picking mushrooms to eat, or simply want to identify the many strange and beautiful mushrooms you find on walks through the woods, this field guide is highly recommended."-- American Horticulturalist
"This is the mushroom forager's Bible. Don't go into the wilderness without it."--Creative Living
". . . should be on the bookshelf of all serious amateurs, and the professionals will also find it helpful."--Mycologia
The late Alexander H. Smith was Professor Emeritus of Botany, University of Michigan. Nancy Smith Weber is Associate Professor of Forest Science, Oregon State University.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472856103
• ISBN13: 9780472856107
• Release Date: September 1980
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

No Color Images

I’m pretty disappointed the copy I received doesn’t contain color images, all the information and other reviews were raving about them and I was really looking forward to them. Otherwise, good textual content.

A GOOD SUPPLEMENT

I was glad I added this one to my collection and library. As others have pointed out, it certainly is not an all inclusive work by any means, but I did find the photography well done and the book to be helpful IF I use it in conjunction with other works. I cannot stress the "IF" enough. I photograph wild flowers as a hobby but cannot pass up a good shot of any mushrooms I come across in my wonderings. This is a good field guide to carry in the car and it usually gives me enough information to get a good start on identification after the photography work is done and I have time to properly research the photographed subject. I suspect the very, very serious collector or professional would need much more than is offered here, but for my purposes, it works just fine.

Best Mushroom Book for the Lake States

This is the best mushroom book for beginning mushroom hunters in the Lake States, written by a career University of Michigan mycologist who collected and described many new species in the Lake States for 40 years or more. D.L. Richter, Ph.D. Mycology/Pathology

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This book contains excellent color photos to mach the color tones and size characteristics of the mushrooms in the Midwest. We typically search in the areas south of Lake Superior.