Mushroom hunting?  Do you know what you are looking for? Here are an assortment of field identification books that will help you circumnavigate your mushroom hunting experience.
 

 

Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World by Ian R. Hall, Steven L. Stephenson, Peter K. Buchanan, and Wang Yun Mushrooms are among the most intriguing and striking inhabitants of the natural world. Some are medicinal, others poisonous or even lethal. Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms of the World is a well-rounded look at mushrooms, including their cultivation, ethno botanical uses, and the fascinating roles they play in nature. The authors provide expert advice on how to identify and distinguish between edible and poisonous wild mushrooms and how to record important details. More than 250 stunning photographs accompany the text.

$49.95

Hallucinogenic and Poisonous Mushroom: Field Guide by Gary P. Menser, Gery P. Menser A well written and easy to understand book which clearly defines each type of mushroom with illustrations and photographs (in the appendix). It shows how to identify and distinguish between poisonous and hallucinogenic mushrooms (a vital skill). It also gives details on habitat. A useful reference guide. The only extra bit of advice I would give those thinking of ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms is to always keep a sample in case something goes wrong so they can easily be identified. If in doubt don't pick. This book will certainly help reduces the confusion between similar looking psychotropic and poisonous mushrooms.

$15.95

 

Mushroom Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (Paperback) by David Arora A comprehensive and delightfully written book by an author whose preoccupation with fungi borders on the extreme, this field guide is perhaps the most useful on the market. More than 2000 species are covered in 959 pages, with 800 photographs. Soft cover.

$39.95

 

North American Mushrooms: A Field Guide to Edible and Inedible Fungi This comprehensive book has beautiful pictures, easy to understand keys, detailed drawings, interesting fungi information, listings of toxins, and useful information on habitat. This is not only a practical field guide but an interesting read into the world of wild mushrooms. In the wide range of selections available in the genre of field guides, I would recommend "North American Mushrooms" along with a couple area specific resources to round out a definitive package.

$25.95

 

The New Savory Wild Mushroom (Paperback) by Margaret McKenny (Author) The photography in this book is excellent. The book is keyed to the Pacific Northwest, so those who live in or visit the area will find it very easy to use. The descriptors are clear especially concerning edibility. The book fits nicely into a day pack for all you hikers out there.

$22.50

 

Smithsonian Handbooks: Mushrooms by Thomas Laesse If I could only have one mushroom book, this would be the one. It is easy to use and displays almost all of the information I need for initial identification of a mushroom on one page.

$19.95

 

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms  by Gary H. Lincoff This is book is an excellent guide to mushrooms for the money. Its portability and durability are also second-to-none. The book is full of beautiful color photographs and full descriptions. The pictures are grouped into categories (like all Audubon field guides) for quick identification. Personally, I am very pleased with it and highly recommend it.

$19.95

 

Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World:  A Guide to Identification. By Paul Stamets. The most comprehensive field guide to the psilocybin-active species ever published, this field guide illustrates a wide range of species spanning the world. With excellent color photographs, nearly 100 species are fully described, including close relatives and poisonous look-alikes. A book without comparison, this field guide stands alone in its scope and describes many new species not seen in any previous works. Far more than just a field guide, this book will prove useful to mycologists, scholars, physicians, and the passionately curious. 6 x 9 inches, 256 pages. Soft cover.

$29.95