(Part 2) Top products from r/mycology

I grew up in northwestern MD, so around the same area as you. I own and have used most of the guides folks here have mentioned. Most of them are good, but the guide I always find myself plopping in my basket is Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians by William Roody. The book itself is a little larger than other field guides (like Audubon's guide, for example), but the photos are MUCH larger and the descriptions of the mushrooms are informative without being overwhelming. I also found the layout of the book to be extremely intuitive.

Mushrooms Demystified is not a field guide. It is a large book and jam-packed with information. It is much more useful as an "after field guide" when you have your mushrooms at home and want to key them out. There a few color plates in the book but the book's real utility is in the identification keys for each genus.

I would also throw Mushrooms of Northeastern America as another "too big for the field" book. That book is massive. BUT, it is also the book I go to when I'm home from my mushroom hunting. It's a fantastic book to have.

All That the Rain Promises is a great little book. Very entertaining. But it's definitely a west coast guide.

I find the Audubon guide to have photos that are much too small to be very useful for at-a-glance ID in the field, and the breadth of material to be unnecessarily wide. The information contained within is definitely useful, but I have found other books that have a better layout and better pictures with the same or better information. The only real advantage it has over most other field guides is its size. If you're planning on shrooming around where you live, you're probably better off getting a guide for your specific region.

The Field Guide to the Wild Mushrooms of Pennsylvania And the Mid-atlantic is an alright book. All of the information it has is very good, but I did not find it to be comprehensive enough with the species it covered. Also, I hated the form factor of the guide itself (tall and skinny) because I could not keep it open by weighing down each side with a rock or just laying it on its spine, it had to be held open. I am someone who likes to fondle the mushrooms as I'm looking over the description in the guide, but it might not be the case with you. Just something to consider.

Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America: A Field-to-kitchen Guide is a great guide if you're out for edibles. It is not a good guide if you are out and want to identify everything you run across just for the fun of it. But with that in mind, I definitely would recommend it. I have only tried a few of the recipes myself, but they have all turned out well.

I agree that having good, clear photographs in a field guide is important - I'm a visual person and photos are the first thing I turn to when faced with an unfamiliar fungus. All that said, please remember that photos alone are not enough to positively identify a mushroom. They're great for getting a general idea of where to start, but they are not end-all be-all.

And as a last aside, a book that I picked up on a whim (just because I'm a bit of a mushroom book magpie) called Common Interior Alaska Cryptogams: Fungi, Lichenicolous Fungi, Lichenized Fungi, Slime Molds, Mosses, and Liverworts actually has (in my opinion) the best overview of mushroom physiological variations. There is a line drawing illustration of the character in question (for example, gill attachment) and then the terminology used to describe each variant of it. Other guides certainly have all of this information, but it is laid out in an incredibly elegant and intuitive way in this book. It helps a lot to know these things when working your way through keys.

Anyway, hope this was helpful!

The two you've listed are my personal favorites. I also make use of National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms, 100 Edible Mushrooms, North American Mushrooms: A Field guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi (not my favorite, but a useful cross reference at times), and Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America (this one has fantastic photos. While it is never recommended to ID by appearance alone, the cross cuts and underside photos in this book can be very useful). If you live in the southern east coast then I'd recommend Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States if you can find it affordably (as far as I know it is out of print and even used coppies are pretty expensive, but it is a fantastic book for southeastern mushrooms).

As far as websites I am a pretty frequent visitor of MushroomExpert.com. It offers some good keys and there are a lot of mushrooms listed.

I would not recommend the Audubon guide it is very out of date (this can range from outdated taxonomy all the way to toxicology that has changed over the years). It is useful because it lists species other guides lacks but you'll learn to hate it.

Buy a location specific guide. It depends on where you live. If you get really into field hunting buy some specific guides that give you a more in depth understanding and help you not to die. Joining a local mycological society is also an extremely valuable resource in understanding mycology.

Here's a bit of everything

Regional guides

Alaska

Common Interior Alaska Cryptogams

Western US

All The Rain Promises and More
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest

Mushrooms Demystified This is an old book, while still useful it definitely needs updating.

The New Savory Wild Mushroom Also dated but made for the PNW

Midwestern US

Mushrooms of the Midwest

Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States

Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest

Southern US

Texas Mushrooms: A Field Guide

Mushrooms of the Southeastern United States

Common Mushrooms of Florida

A Field Guide to Southern Mushrooms It's old so you'll need to learn new names.

Eastern US

Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians

Mushrooms of Northeast North America (This was out of print for awhile but it's they're supposed to be reprinting so the price will be normal again)

Mushrooms of Northeastern North America

Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America(Macrofungi Associated with Oaks of Eastern North America)

Mushrooms of Cape Cod and the National Seashore

More specific (Advanced) guides

Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World

North American Boletes

Tricholomas of North America

Milk Mushrooms of North America

Waxcap Mushrooms of North America

Ascomycete of North America

Ascomycete in colour

Fungi of Switzerland: Vol. 1 Ascomycetes A series of 6 books.

Fungi Europaei A collection of 14 books.

PDFs and online Guides

For Pholiota

For Chlorophyllum

American species of Crepidotus

Guide to Australian Fungi If this is useful consider donating to this excellent set of guides.

Websites that aren't in the sidebar

For Amanita

For coprinoids

For Ascos

MycoQuebec: they have a kickass app but it's In French

Messiah college this has a lot of weird species for polypores and other things

For Hypomyces

Cultivation

The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home (If your home is a 50,000 sq ft warehouse)

Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation: Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms

Mycology

The fifth kingdom beginner book, I would recommend this. It goes over fungal taxonomy Oomycota, Zygomycota and Eumycota. It also has ecology and fungi as food.

The kingdom fungi coffee table book it has general taxonomy of the kingdom but also very nice pictures.

Introduction to fungi Depends on your definition of beginner, this is bio and orgo heavy. Remember the fungi you see pop out of the ground (ascos and basidios) are only a tiny fraction of the kingdom.

NAMA affiliated clubs

better to learn both poisonous and edible.

Eastern US

Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada The most recently published for the NE

Mushrooms of the Northeast by Walt Sturgeon An excellent pocket guide, Walt does a good job mentioning the lesser known look alikes.

Mushrooms of Northeast North America A great guide for beginners, with many pictorial and dichotomous guides to ID fungi.

Mushrooms of Northeastern North America Has the most species listed for the NE.

Well, those Cedars aren't going to be much help. Any hardwoods? You could cut up some of those into rounds and sandwich spawn in between (much easier than plugging with dowels.) Pick up one of Stamet's cultivation books for more ideas. Perhaps have someone from a nearby myco group (Port Townsend or Seattle) take a walk on the land in the fall, you're in mushroom paradise up there, you might already have kilos of edibles!

http://www.psms.org/index.php

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GTLS2U/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d3_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0XSSRPJM36WSG74684RY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846

http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World-ebook/dp/B004GTLKEG/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GFK89NER94NWNXE8NW4

Thanks! Ya I haven't been here in quite some time, but this post has made me want to pick it up again.

As for what gear I use, it's an OMAX 40x-2000x Microscope and a digital camera which I can't remember nor have anymore.

And did you mean x-post to r/MicroPorn? I read the guidelines and it seems they don't want albums. But thanks for the info, I'll definitely post there when I start doing some more.

Awesome, a fellow Southern(ish)er. This one covers Kentucky and is budget friendly:

Mushrooms of the Southeast (A Timber Press Field Guide) https://www.amazon.com/dp/160469730X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_DZMPBbPTFWDWP

I think that supplemented with Mushrooms Demystified for advanced keying will have you covered.

Oh, and if you're up in the Bay Area, you really ought to check out Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast; it was just released last year and is by far the best and most up-to-date mushroom hunting book for your region. It's also chock-full of beautiful color photos.

I just bought the book mentioned in the article. It is a good read so far. Have you read it? I would love to study mycology.

http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-World-ebook/dp/B004GTLKEG/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

That is pretty nifty. I've wanted to do microscopy on the spore prints I've taken, but microscopes tend to be quite pricey. That user that occasionally posts some of his microscopy posted a link to this which is about the same price as a nice smartphone if you don't already have one.

I'm nearly shocked at the news that someone would not like Oyster mushrooms. Perhaps you aren't cooking them right. preheat a dry pan to extremely hot, spray some pan spray on the mushroom and put it gill side down and hold in in hard contact with the pan with a spatula. It's really hard to burn something that is 90% water but you can get it to a deep golden brown, which is the idea here. Oysters taste much better when seared in this way.

Also, if a couple of grow kits get your interest, consider investing in [Paul Stamets' book.] (http://www.amazon.com/Growing-Gourmet-Medicinal-Mushrooms-Stamets-ebook/dp/B004GTLS2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417373049&sr=8-1&keywords=paul+stamets)

If your looking for cheap but good enough quality you can get this: https://www.amazon.com/Rough-Rider-Mushroom-Hunters-Hardwood/dp/B00B10BK7U/

Otherwise a Swiss or a Leatherman will do just fine

With all the recent taxonomic changes, that's fair.

For my region specifically, my recommendations are:

Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest
and
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast

Amazon links for anyone interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Pacific-Northwest-Timber-Press/dp/0881929352

https://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Redwood-Coast-Comprehensive-California/dp/1607748177

NC rank amatuer here - When I was just getting into it, a couple of mycologists recommended two guides: A Field Guide to Southern Mushrooms and the 1991 ed of Mushrooms of North America by Roger Phillips, which I believe has been superseeded by this book. Alas, the local mushroom club disbanded and the experts moved away before I gained confidence in self-identifying and eating more than canterelles, morels, hen-of-the-woods, sulfur shelf and oyster. And since then, our favorite morel grounds has become a series of soccer fields. But, I still find oysters with some regularity on river walks where I know the terrain and the downed trees. That may be way too basic for you, but do check out FG to Southern Mushrooms.

Mushrooms of the upper midwest isn't perfect, but it is a good starting point. I use it along with Audobon and the internet.

I'm getting mixed results researching the edibility of deliquesced shaggies. I found one source that swears its edible, just gross to the general public. Apparently This book contains a recipe for inky pasta made with the goo from dissolved shaggies. And on the other hand, a few of my books make no claims about the edibility of the goo, only mentioning that they taste best when young and totally white.

​

If i can make inky pasta with these guys I wanna know because that would be so coooool

Take a look at the North American Mycological Association and find a club near you!

Also I'd recommend Roger Phillip's book to start out with. I'd also look for a book that was made specifically for your area of the US.

You need a decent book....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edible-Mushrooms-Foragers-Britain-Europe/dp/0857843974

"Everywhere on the internet" sounds remarkably like North America to me.

I like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/North-American-Mushrooms-Inedible-Falconguide/dp/0762731095/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1409688221&sr=8-6&keywords=mushrooms+of+north+america

I don't like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-American-Mushrooms/dp/0394519922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409688242&sr=8-1&keywords=audubon+mushrooms

I did this on Friday:

http://www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/2f9lbx/prelabor_day_haul_10_variety_30_lbs/

The first book you have linked, The Kingdom of Fungi, is more of a coffee table book than it is substantial reading. Maybe you mean this The Kingdom Fungi?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005TJ5CEG/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M3T1_SC_dp_1

I've never seen this particular make before. Who makes it?

Edit: Nevermind, I found it. The brand is Rough Rider.

https://smile.amazon.com/Rough-Rider-Mushroom-Hunters-Hardwood/dp/B00B10BK7U/

http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Kuo/e/B001ILI9G2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603582142/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/The-Mushroom-Cultivator-Practical-Mushrooms/dp/0961079800/ref=pd_sim_b_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0V56Q93CSRKQYV2W1C0B http://www.amazon.com/Mycelium-Running-Mushrooms-Help-World/dp/1580085792/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0V56Q93CSRKQYV2W1C0B http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472030361/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0472031260/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394519922/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580085792/ref=oh_details_o04_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mushrooms of the north east

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edible-Mushrooms-Foragers-Britain-Europe/dp/0857843974

I recently bought Mushrooms of the Northeast: A Simple Guide to Common Mushrooms (Mushroom Guides)
Marrone, Teresa and not happy about it

I think next time i'll buy Boletes of Eastern North America i hope it"s less generic. (it's the shame there is no preview of couple pages)