The older ones have read Mushroom Rain Promises. I flipped when I read it, and prescribed it. They geeked out, too. Then, naturally, the little kids to follow..
Excellent and engaging book! Even though, unfortunately, it's not for my region. The enthusiasm is contagious. And the reference to a bigger book are useful!
https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
All that the Rain Promises and More by David Arora is the 'classic' I think. It's a great resource, but also like, super funny and charming and great to just sit there and read through. It applies to Western US mushrooms so it should be perfect.
It's actually not that simple. Even with a photo book it's easy to misidentify things, and there's a few dopplegangers that are straight up deadly. This is the best book at least for the western US: https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
Very nice!
I highly suggest for anyone interesting mushrooming in the PNW to grab a copy of All That the Rain Promises and More.
I use this all the time out on the trails to identify different mushrooms. Great photos and descriptions of PNW specific mushrooming.
If you want IDs for the mushrooms you find, you'll have to get better photos.
Here's a few additional pieces of advice:
Good luck IDing your mushrooms!
I’m guessing you already have this book
You could try identifying it with the book "If It Rains, It Spours," but I also wouldn't recommend eating it. I've wanted to learn to forage for mushrooms too, but several UCSC professors specializing in mushroom identification convinced me that it's a pretty bad idea b/c some poisonous and edible mushrooms look so alike. It's still fun to try to identify them with the book though! ~ happy foraging
Edit: this is the book
Not enough info. It would be nice to see the whole mushroom. Dig the stem out of the ground that will show the shape and color of the stem and if it has a veil remnant. Gill color and shape are important. Length and width, location, and a spore print are very useful, as well. In other words, this looks like a lot of other mushrooms. Getting a good mushroom field guide will help more than you would know. I recommend All that the rain promises and more This is a very good beginner book and even though it was written about the west coast, I live in the southeast and much of the book pertains to this area, too. Good luck 👍
for west coast US: though field guides come with their pitfalls, https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883 is a wonderful little guide that's just as much a fun mushroom hunting story compilation as it is a field guide! his other super famous book Mushrooms Demystified is like ATTRPAM on steroids and is more of a comprehensive guide, the former is more tailored towards the west coast
This is my favorite mushroom guide! all the rain promises and more
Make sure you learn the deadliest mushroom types so you can avoid look alikes, and remember to positively ID each mushroom type you find from a guide and to make sure it is not a similar looking type that may be poisonous. For example, the shaggy parasol and green spored parasol look very very similar, but one will make you very sick. You could also look into joining a local mycological society.
As I said, he's not the author. But he's the guy pictured on the cover. Indeed, he's listed in the photo credits in the book itself.
If you flip through the actual book, there are many pictures of many different people posing with mushrooms. Most of them are wacky in some way or another...
Well it’s not simple. You need to first figure out which types of mushrooms you are interested in picking, then you need to figure out which trees they grow with, then you need to figure out which forest zones in your area have those types of trees, then you need to visit those areas throughout the appropriate “season” for the mushrooms you are looking for (here in the pnw we have a fall and spring mushroom season both feature distinctly different types of mushrooms, in different areas, with different tree hosts) to see if there are actually mushrooms fruiting in that place at that time. It actually takes years to develop this knowledge and skill set but you should invest in a couple books to help you along your way: this and this. As far as actually seeing where to “dig” for porcinis, there will usually be a more mature specimen in the area that is protruding above the ground and serves as a “flag” to signal where to look for a patch (which isn’t always forthcoming). There will be bumps in the ground where the growing mushrooms are pushing up the surface and that is where you will find the primo specimens to harvest to eat. Hope that helps.
A friend took me when I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed college kid. I took our findings to a mycologist on campus who spent 20 minutes describing proper browning-in-butter protocol. I was hooked- both on mushrooming and the goofy people involved. I already collect field identification books, so I have a shelf in my bookcase just for mushroom ID and foraging. Every time i go out i try to ID a new mushie. Anything im super lost on i take to a mycologist friend in town, or i email the prof at OSU (which is 30 minutes drive) and bug them with it.
I also have permits for personal collection of mushrooms in all the local national forests (most were free) and researched the county and state park rules for collection on their property. Gotta be responsible, yo.
I recommend picking up All That Rain Promises and More (link) and the unabridged Mushrooms Demystified link2 because i reference both a TON, The first one is waterproof, and David is a certified goofball.
https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883 And this is the west coast mushroom hunters’ bible. It has all the info you need to know which mushrooms to pick, and what time of year to look for them!
Love that! Reminds me of the classic All the Rain Promises and More, which is actually a highly respected guide to CA mycology
For mushroom: https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
Edit: found a copy a couple years ago on ebay for 6 shipped so don't pay 22 on amazon
Depends on what region you are in. For the one where I live this is the best book and for mushroom identification and general information if you are on the west coast, this is your bible
Nice collection, but it's definitely missing All That the Rain Promises and More. Also what are all those bottles?
i dont know why i expected the cover to be anything less: https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
All That the Rain Promises and More is an excellent guide for the area. It isn’t specific to the redwood coast, but the author is from the area. It has a bit of an edibles focus, but is a good general purpose pocket guide with good photos.
The same author published Mushrooms Demystified, which is the classic field guide to west coast fungi, but it’s very much a comprehensive field guide, it’s a giant brick of a book with dense text and dichotomous keys and not a lot of photos.
https://www.amazon.ca/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883 go buy this book! Also, sign up for a foray here when they start doing it: https://www.vanmyco.org There’s also an open house in the Fall at VanDusen
You're forgetting something very important https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/
like this guy?
This is a good beginner’s guide to identifying common mushrooms:
All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898153883
This book is pretty highly recommended in the mushroom groups I follow on Facebook All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898153883/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_HNBS78AE6RQRQNX67DD6
The table book “companion” to “All That the Rain Promises…” is called “Mushrooms Demystified”, both by David Arora.
I’ve seen the National Audubon Society Field Guide mentioned and recommended on some sites as well.
u/Arcaniac1234, I use Mushroom Identificator app (iPhone) in the field when I don’t have service. It’s not perfect, but good enough to get me started in the right direction :)
Otherwise, I bring an unknown specimen home and run it through MycoKey database installed on my PC.
Check David Aurora’s field guide book: All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898153883/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_939NACD4G67GTSZW1QXH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
One of the greats
To piggyback; All the Rain Promises and More also by David Arora is nice to have while walking around although MD is a resource i find with more info. here
I assume you have one of these to go with it?
Those Chanterelles at 12 & 13 are probably the only thing worth eating. Clean em up and fry em up.
3 & 7 look to be Lobsters (edible but those look past their prime). 8 & 9 look like jelly fungi.
This book is great if you live out west in the US:
https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
This is a very good book to start with. there are nice guidebooks on Amazon that have a narrower focus, depending on what you are looking for and where you live. https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=mushroom+guide&qid=1582154662&sr=8-9. There is a real good web site that often gets you in the ballpark https://www.fungusid.com/ Happy hunting.
This is a very good book to start with. there are nice guidebooks on Amazon that have a narrower focus, depending on what you are looking for and where you live. https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=mushroom+guide&qid=1582154662&sr=8-9. There is a real good web site that often gets you in the ballpark https://www.fungusid.com/ Happy hunting.
These are my two go to pocket guides
All the Rain Promises and More has lots of West Coast mushrooms. It's geared to the US, but it's great in Puget Sound near Seattle so it's likely similar up in your area too, though it does have lots from areas like Southern California (including interesting desert mushrooms!). Pacific Northwest Foraging is my favorite for non-mushroom foraging.
Get it, read it, learn 'em :) http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
I have a few.
My favorite for plants is: Pacific Northwest Foraging.
My favorite for mushrooms is split between: All that the Rain Promises and More, which is an awesome, positive, life affirming mushroom hunting book which has info about all the west, not just the PNW, and Common Mushrooms of the Northwest, which is nice and thin, so easy to bring with me, and has really good pictures and descriptions. The same author also has a nice Berry Book.
I like this book and you can probably find others in the library. its a good place to start. if you are close to spokane and want to hang with some mushroom wierdos, it looks like there is a spokane mushroom club. They can probably point you to resources closer to you if you arent from there.
I can't tell from the photo but it looks like the cross section is bruising blue.
Get a good field guide OP, they're dirt cheap http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
I thought this was a gag of some sort, or a subtle photoshop...
This thing actually exists:
http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
^^^Why ^^^the ^^^goddamn ^^^trumpet?
Depending where you live, mushroom hunting.
http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
Edit to add that it can be good exercise and an excuse to get out of the house.
Foraging in North Wet is all about mushrooms! Chantrell, Porchini and Matusaki season is just starting...morels grow in the spring. Best way to get competent/meet people is to hook up with the local club or at least take your findings to there id clinics (that should be starting soon for the fall): http://www.psms.org/id_clinics.html. Best book is http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/
Get Erna Gunther's "Ethnobotany of Western Washington" in addition to Pojar and MacKinnon if you are interested in native uses.
A mycology post would be incomplete without this treasure: http://www.amazon.ca/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883
On a slightly more serious note I use this guide (live in the NW) it is as cool as it looks http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883